Foreshadowing

• In 1:2, Macbeth beheads a traitor on the battlefield, which foreshadows his own death at the end of the play.
• In his soliloquy, Macbeth notes that murderers themselves are eventually killed, again foreshadowing his own death (1:7).
• After murdering Duncan, Macbeth speaks about Neptune's ocean not cleaning his hands, foreshadowing the mental demise of Lady Macbeth in 5:1, where she can't wash the blood from her hands (2:2).
• In 3:2, Macbeth speaks of how jealous he is that Duncan doesn't have the worries of being King anymore (civil wars, treason, foreign armies, etc), foreshadowing Macduff's rebellion and the English attack.
• The first apparition in 4:1 is an "armed head", foreshadowing Macbeth being beheaded.