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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 2
Explanation and Analysis—Wooed by Women:
Imprisoned by the Athenian authorities after fighting bravely in battle on behalf of his native city of Thebes, Arcite foreshadows later events of the play. Attempting to reassure his close friend, cousin, and fellow prisoner, Palamon, that imprisonment might prove to be a blessing in disguise, Arcite states:
Let’s think this prison holy sanctuary
To keep us from corruption of worse men.
We are young and yet desire the ways of honor
That liberty and common conversation,
The poison of pure spirits, might like women
Woo us to wander from.
Here, Arcite is optimistic if unconvincing. He states that prison might be thought of as a “holy sanctuary” that will keep them “from corruption of worse men.” Previously, Arcite and Palamon described the corrupting influence of the city of Thebes under the tyranny of Creon, its leader. Further, he states that in prison they might maintain their honor, while “liberty” might “woo” them away from the path of virtue.
Specifically, Arcite imagines this corrupting influence as a “woman” whose influence might tempt him and Palamon into the loss of their honor. Arcite, then, unwittingly foreshadows the primary plot of the play, which follows Arcite and Palamon as they fall for the same woman and become bitter enemies, sacrificing their friendship and honor to compete for Emilia’s affections.
Related Themes:
Act 5, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Die a Bachelor :
After Arcite has defeated Palamon in battle, Arcite prepares to marry Emilia and Palamon prepares to be executed in accordance with Theseus’s conditions. Reporting back to Emilia on the outcome of the battle, Theseus foreshadows the tragic accident that reverses Arcite and Palamon’s fortunes. To Emilia, he says:
O loved sister,
He speaks now of as brave a knight as e’er
Did spur a noble steed. Surely the gods
Would have him die a bachelor, lest his race
Should show i’ th’ world too godlike. His behavior
So charmed me that methought Alcides was
To him a sow of lead. If I could praise
Each part of him to th’ all I have spoke, your Arcite
Did not lose by ’t, for he that was thus good
Encountered yet his better.
Hoping to reassure Emilia regarding her upcoming marriage to Arcite, Theseus heaps praise upon the young Theban gentleman, stating that he is “as brave a knight as ‘e’er” rode upon a horse. Amidst the many compliments he pays to Arcite, Theseus states that “Surely the gods / Would have him die a bachelor” so that his “race” or children would not “show i’ th’ world too godlike.” In other words, Theseus states that he is surprised the gods have permitted Arcite to marry, as Arcite’s children would be able to compete with the gods themselves. Theseus, then, unknowingly foreshadows an event announced shortly after this speech: Arcite is thrown from his horse and dies from his injuries before he can marry Emilia.
Related Themes:
