Examples Of Foreshadowing In Romeo And Juliet

The first example of foreshadowing is found in the prologue of the novel. The chorus narrated, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,/A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. (Prologue, 5, 6).” Here the chorus tells you that the pair of star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet will take their lives). Already, it is very obvious that Romeo and Juliet will die in the end of the play. After a few lines, it continues, “Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife./The fearful passage of dearth-marked love. (Prologue, 8, 9).” This quote tells the reader that the pair of star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet) will die upon the rivalry between their two families. The worried tone here gives a hint to the reader that something bad will happen sometime in the future. Note that the play had not even begun yet, and there are already obvious clues to Romeo and Juliet’s death. Here, Shakespeare is trying to point out that young love overcame the values of Romeo and Juliet’s family. This meant that young love came first and family came second.
In Act I,

Here, Juliet said, “Go ask his name-if he be married,/My grave is like to be my wedding-bed (I,V,136-137).” In other words, Juliet swears that if she doesn’t get married to Romeo, she will die with her grave as her wedding bed. Just like the second example that was stated, Juliet (just like Romeo) have a desperate tone since they want each other so badly. The ironic thing is that they just met each other and are already choosing to marry one another, even though they just saw each other one time. It is also ironic to see all the events happen so quickly at once. Here, Shakespeare foreshadows Juliet’s death. This death (along with Romeo’s death), occurred because of the dominating influence of young love rather than family values. Romeo and Juliet ignored their parents’ interpretation of an acceptable soul mate and led their relationship to a