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Foreshadowing In Romeo And Juliet

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In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare skillfully cultivates themes of love, fate, and conflict using the techniques of foreshadowing and symbolism, ultimately setting the stage for the inevitable tragedy of the star-crossed lovers. From the beginning, Romeo and Juliet are depicted as “a pair of star-crossed lovers” who experience “death-marked love” (1.Prologue.6-9). Being “star-crossed lovers” means their love is inescapably doomed by tragedy because it has already been written in the stars. Their families’ feud leads them to experience a death-marked love, as their families will not let them be together. Shakespeare, therefore, insinuates that Romeo and Juliet’s forbidden love will ultimately lead to their deaths. Romeo essentially predicts his fate, stating, “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars//Shall bitterly begin his fearful date//With this night’s revels, and expire the …show more content…

These two star-crossed lovers, whose fate is “hanging in the stars,” are foreshadowed by Shakespeare to face their predestined death later in the play. These are forms of foreshadowing in which the playwright discloses the lovers' fate from the beginning, allowing readers to anticipate their deaths. The playwright uses symbolism to represent Romeo and Juliet’s deepening of love and foreshadow their fate’s underlying trajectory. Romeo tells Juliet, “If I profane with my unworthiest hand//This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this” (1.5.104-105). Romeo explains how he feels unworthy to hold Juliet’s hand, highlighting the impossible aspect of their love. Romeo and Juliet belong to opposing families, so their passion is forsaken, leaving Romeo feeling “unworthy.” This serves as a form of foreshadowing for the rest of the play as it demonstrates how deeply infatuated Romeo and Juliet are with each other, so much so that they ignore the problems they clearly

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