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Dramatic Irony
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
Book 1, Part 1
Explanation and Analysis—Dreams:
In the following example of sensory imagery from Book 1, Part 1, Paul dreams about Arrakis, meditating on the sound of water and the solemn silence of an "Arrakeen cavern."
Paul fell asleep to dream of an Arrakeen cavern, silent people all around him moving in the dim light of glowglobes. It was solemn there and like a cathedral as he listened to a faint sound—the drip-drip-drip of water. Even while he remained in the dream, Paul knew he would remember it upon awakening. He always remembered the dreams that were predictions. The dream faded.
Paul's dreams come true, foreshadowing his future relationship with the Fremen on Arrakis. In general, foreshadowing and premonition are an important part of Dune—a key element of the Bene Gesserit's power and Paul's religious significance as the Muad'DIb. It is no coincidence that Paul's first noteworthy dream about Arrakis features a meditation on water. The dream does not tell Paul much about the planet that will become his home. The imagery in this dream does, however, center water. The above passage thus foreshadows the ecological and spiritual significance of water on Arrakis: the cavern is silent, "like a cathedral," yet the sounds of water remain, signifying the nearly religious relationship the Fremen have with the liquid.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Maternal Grandfather:
In an example of foreshadowing from Book 1, Part 1, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim contemplates Paul Atreides' face, making notes about the young boy's ancestry:
The old woman studied Paul in one gestalten flicker: face oval like Jessica’s, but strong bones … hair: the Duke’s black-black but with browline of the maternal grandfather who cannot be named, and that thin, disdainful nose; shape of directly staring green eyes: like the old Duke, the paternal grandfather who is dead.
The Reverend Mother referencing a "maternal grandfather who cannot be named" foreshadows Paul and Jessica's Harkonnen ancestry, something that only the Reverend Mother is aware of at this stage in the novel.
It is important to ask: why would the Reverend Mother wish to withhold ancestry information from Jessica? Likely, the older woman has ulterior motives connected to her Bene Gesserit dogma. Jessica and Paul are important pieces in the Bene Gesserit's long-term genetic experiment. It is important to the Reverend Mother that these lines of ancestry be maintained and continue. By withholding information about Jessica's Harkonnen ancestry, the Reverend Mother likely seeks to mediate potential conflict between Lady Jessica and Duke Leto. Such conflict would disturb the Atreides family and upend the Bene Gesserit genetic breeding program.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Part 6
Explanation and Analysis—Skull:
In Book 1, Part 6, Paul discusses his newly evolving mental capacities with his father, Duke Leto. The Duke is proud of his son, smiling at him. In a strange instance of imagery, however, Paul does not respond as one might expect a child to respond to a proud parent:
“Formidable indeed,” the Duke murmured, and Paul saw the proud smile on his father’s face. The smile shocked Paul: it had a skull look on the Duke’s narrow features. Paul closed his eyes, feeling the terrible purpose reawaken within him. Perhaps being a Mentat is terrible purpose, he thought.
Rather than bask in the Duke's praise, as any son normally would, Paul envisions his father's face as a skull, conjuring up the imagery of death. This is no random likeness; Paul is constantly considering his father's fate. He worries that he will not be able to save Duke Leto from the coming trials.
This response from Paul foreshadows the Duke's death, already somewhat of a foregone conclusion in the narrative. While Paul's mental capacities are impressive, he cannot help but see this as a "terrible purpose"—and what son would not, when placed in the position to foretell his father's death?
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Book 1, Part 13
Explanation and Analysis—Unbelieving Moon:
Book 1, Part 13 illustrates a moment of calm before the onslaught of Harkonnen savagery, during which Duke Leto reflects on the night landscape of Arrakis. Both foreshadowing and personification are at play in this passage:
A predawn hush had come over the desert basin. He looked up. Straight overhead, the stars were a sequin shawl flung over blue-black. Low on the southern horizon, the night’s second moon peered through a thin dust haze —an unbelieving moon that looked at him with a cynical light. As the Duke watched, the moon dipped beneath the Shield Wall cliffs, frosting them, and in the sudden intensity of darkness, he experienced a chill. He shivered.
The narrator uses this passage to personify the moon, which looks at Duke Leto with a "cynical light" that reflects the Duke's own insecurities and anxieties about his present circumstances. The moon then disappears, leaving the Duke in darkness—a means of foreshadowing his death through imagery. While the duke is not blessed with the strange cognitive powers his lover and son share, he still maintains a good instinct for danger. In this passage, Duke Leto senses danger on the horizon, anticipating dark days ahead for himself and for his family.
Book 2, Part 8
Explanation and Analysis—Hero:
The following example of paradox occurs in Book 2, Part 8. Liet-Kynes hallucinates his father, who alludes indirectly to Paul Atreides:
“No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero” his father said.
Liet-Kynes's father states, rather paradoxically, that the worst disaster for the Fremen will come in the form of their savior. He refers abstractly to a "Hero," but Paul Atreides's name is all but referenced. This is a strange sentiment indeed: one would think that a hero would be a boon, rather than a disaster—and the Fremen could certainly use a savior of some kind, given their treatment at the hands of the Harkonnens and the Emperor. A hero is not always to the benefit of a society, however. Liet-Kynes challenges the moral goodness of a hero/savior in the abstract. A hero may lead a society out of darkness and suffering; but a hero may quickly turn into a tyrant. Given ultimate power over a group of people, one may choose to save and help one's people—or ruin them.
This passage also serves as a kind of foreshadowing, looking ahead into Paul's future as the Muad'Dib and ruler of the Dune universe.
Related Themes:
