A sign, word or image that anticipates, sometimes only for those who reread, something that will happen later in the work.
In Romeo and Juliet
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life
The Chorus gives away the ending before the action begins: by speaking of a pair of lovers "born under an opposing star," it already marks them for a tragic end. The audience watches knowing where the story is heading.
Act I: The brawl and the ball, the Chorus
my mind misgives / Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Act I: The brawl and the ball, Romeo
Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.
Act II: The garden and the wedding, Friar Laurence
These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die
Act II: The garden and the wedding, Friar Laurence
A plague o' both your houses!
Act III: Mercutio, Tybalt, and the banishment, Mercutio
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