In older ''Hamlet'' commentary you may see ''difference'' interpreted according to heraldic definition, but that does not work. Laertes is now the senior male of the family, so he does not use a heraldic difference, and Ophelia knows Laertes's status after their father's death (as did Shakespeare, of course.) | In older ''Hamlet'' commentary you may see ''difference'' interpreted according to heraldic definition, but that does not work. Laertes is now the senior male of the family, so he does not use a heraldic difference, and Ophelia knows Laertes's status after their father's death (as did Shakespeare, of course.) |