2.2.1
Foreshadowing & Inevitability
Foreshadowing & Inevitability
Foreshadowing & Inevitability
Act One opens and closes with foreshadowing of Willy's fate. This is a literary technique used in other AQA Aspects of Tragedy texts.
Open and close
Open and close
- The play’s title and opening lines (e.g. “I’m tired to the death”) serve to foreshadow Willy’s fate and create a tragic sense of inevitability.
- Miller also ends Act One on a similar note of impending tragedy as the lights go down on Biff holding the rubber tubing which Willy is planning to use to kill himself.
Other texts
Other texts
- This sense of inevitability - of a character unable to escape his/her fate - is also created in other AQA Aspects of Tragedy texts.
- For example...
Richard II
Richard II
- In Act 2 Scene 1 of Richard II, the dying Gaunt prophecies Richard’s fate, foretelling that his reign as King will soon come to an end:
- “His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last, / For violent fires soon burn out themselves”
- The prophecy helps to create a sense of doom around Richard, particularly as he chooses to dismiss Gaunt’s words.
Tess of the D’urbervilles
Tess of the D’urbervilles
- Similarly, in Tess of the D’urbervilles, Hardy’s narrator explicitly states that Tess is used as “sport” by “the President of the Immortals”.
- This recalls the tragic figures of classical tragedy who are brought down by the Gods.
Tess of the D’urbervilles cont.
Tess of the D’urbervilles cont.
- Throughout the novel, Hardy’s symbols often serve to foreshadow later events.
- E.g. Tess’ red ribbon forewarning readers of the bloodshed and passion to follow.
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
Jump to other topics
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
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