Shadows of the Future

[doug*platypus]

I'm glad to see that there is a thread on foreshadowing. Tolkien used this device often (even ad nauseum you might say). After a few reads of LOTR it becomes so apparent, that I thought it wasn't worth bringing up! Of course it is though, especially since now it comes down to it I can't think of all the examples I have seen!

As well as Gollum's destiny, Éowyn's destiny is also referred to by Aragorn (or have I just been movieised?), and Sam refers to the part he feels he still has to play before the end (interestingly, it is almost like there is an outside force specifically telling him this).

Galadriel's Mirror should probably have been called the Foreshadower 2000! I don't know if clairvoyance is the same as foreshadowing, but Sam sees Frodo lying unconscious in Cirith Ungol, and also the woes of his Gaffer, although this may have been present or future. Frodo's vision of Gandalf making his way back down a long road, to Middle-Earth, may also be present or future.

The appearance of an Oliphaunt in Ithilien foreshadows the later appearance of a whole bunch on the Pelennor - most noticeable in the movie (accompanied by the exclamation, "Goody!").