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Foreshadowing
Explanation and Analysis—The Thane of Cawdor:
When Ross and Angus greet Macbeth with the title of Thane of Cawdor in Act 1, Scene 3, they foreshadow the fact that, like the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth will eventually become a traitor to the crown. In Act 1, Scene 4, Duncan laments that the Thane of Cawdor, whom he regarded as a loyal friend, was able to deceive him:
Duncan: There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
Macbeth similarly exploits Duncan's trust in him, pretending to welcome him to his castle at Inverness while simultaneously plotting to assassinate him.
In Act 1, Scene 3, Angus explains how the Thane of Cawdor was ultimately revealed as a traitor. Then, in Act 1, Scene 4, Malcolm describes the Thane of Cawdor's execution, unknowingly foreshadowing his own eventual fate:
Malcolm: He died
As one that had been studied in his death
To throw away the dearest thing he owed
As ’twere a careless trifle.
Like his predecessor, Macbeth's treachery also eventually proves to be his undoing, and he too develops a rather apathetic outlook on life. Cawdor betrayed his country to aid the invading Norwegian forces, but this act of betrayal was rendered meaningless when the Norwegian army was defeated. Likewise, Macbeth's poor performance as king and his lack of heirs to carry on his legacy eventually convinces him that Duncan's murder was pointless.
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