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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Act 2, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Richard's Downfall:
On his deathbed, John of Gaunt summons his nephew, King Richard II, and foreshadows his downfall. He states:
RICHARD II
Thou, now a-dying, sayest thou flatterest me.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, no, thou diest, though I the sicker be.
RICHARD II
I am in health, I breathe, and see thee ill.
JOHN OF GAUNT
Now He that made me knows I see thee ill.
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Some Unborn Sorrow:
King Richard II’s wife, the Queen, foreshadows the troubles to come, which will separate her from her husband and ultimately lead to his removal from the throne and death. Explaining her anxieties to Bushy, she states:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Yet again methinks
Some unborn sorrow ripe in Fortune’s womb
Is coming towards me, and my inward soul
With nothing trembles. At some thing it grieves
More than with parting from my lord the King.
Act 4, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—War of the Roses:
The Bishop of Carlisle foreshadows the historical conflicts that will follow from the dethroning of Richard, namely the violent and bloody War of the Roses, which Shakespeare covers in other plays. Speaking in defiance of Bolingbroke and his allies, he states:
Unlock with LitCharts A+My Lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford’s king,
And if you crown him, let me prophesy
The blood of English shall manure the ground
And future ages groan for this foul act,
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound.
Related Themes:
