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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 1, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Willmore's Bouquet:
In the second scene of Act 1, Willmore metaphorically refers to the women around him as roses. As referenced in the stage directions, a number of women "dressed like courtesans, with papers pinned on their breasts, and baskets of flowers in their hands" have just come on stage. The Englishmen discuss the women, and Willmore tries to get their attention:
WILLMORE Kind, and obliging to inform us – Pray where do these roses grow? I would fain plant some of ’em in a bed of mine.
WOMAN Beware such roses, sir.
WILLMORE A pox of fear: I’ll be baked with thee between a pair of sheets, and that’s thy proper still; so I might but strew such roses over me, and under me – fair one, would you would give me leave to gather at your bush this idle month; I would go near to make somebody smell of it all the year after.
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Act 2, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Love As Disease:
In the first scene of Act 2, Angelica and Moretta stand on the balcony and gaze out at the men who gaze at Angelica's portrait. Angelica expresses her opinion that all men are inconstant, and that she is therefore "resolved that nothing but gold shall charm [her] heart." Moretta responds with approval, metaphorically comparing love to a disease:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I’m glad on’t; ’tis only interest that women of our profession ought to consider: though I wonder what has kept you from that general disease of our sex so long, I mean that of being in love.
Related Themes:
