Final answer:
Laertes is considered a foil for Hamlet as his decisive nature contrasts with Hamlet’s indecisiveness, emphasizing their different approaches to revenge and enriching the narrative by highlighting their distinctive traits.
Step-by-step explanation:
That Laertes has the same reason for revenge as Hamlet is another reason to consider him a foil for Hamlet. In literature, a foil is a character that contrasts with another character, often the protagonist, to highlight particular qualities of the other character. In the case of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Laertes’s quick actions to avenge his father's death sharply contrast Hamlet's indecisiveness over avenging his own father's murder. This juxtaposition emphasizes the traits of each character and offers deeper insights into their personalities and motivations within the play. Foils, such as Laertes for Hamlet, can illuminate the central themes of a work by creating parallel situations that highlight the differences in characters’ actions and choices. While both Laertes and Hamlet experience the need for revenge, Laertes reacts swiftly and decisively, whereas Hamlet's intellectual nature leads to prolonged deliberation and philosophical contemplation, which is a source of his own conflict and the central tension in the play. The comparison between Laertes and Hamlet enriches the narrative by allowing readers to explore different responses to similar circumstances and underscores the complexity of the human experience in dealing with grief, revenge, and justice.