What is Foreshadowing?

Definition: a warning or indication of a future event

Foreshadowing is a literary technique used to build suspense by hinting at things that will come later in the story. Foreshadowing is not revealing what will happen but rather making subtle suggestions. When used well, readers may not realise its significance until later in the story when they have more information, or until the story’s climax has occurred or the plot twist has happened.

There are two types of foreshadowing. When direct foreshadowing is used, the story openly suggests a problem, event, or twist that will happen. This can be accomplished in a prologue, through dialogue, or in a prophecy. The second type of foreshadowing is indirect and only hints at what may happen by giving the reader small clues.

Top Tips:

• Plan your story. You need to know where your story is going to be able to drop hints for what will come.
• Use foreshadowing early in the story. There are two reasons for this, first, you want to hook your readers early. Secondly, it can become a spoiler if you write about it too closely to the event.
• Find a balance for using this technique. Too much foreshadowing can overwhelm your reader or spoil your event/climax/plot twist by revealing too much. Not enough for shadowing, or foreshadowing that is too vague can frustrate readers if they are surprised by something they didn’t see coming.

Here are some examples of foreshadowing from some well-known books and films. Warning -spoilers ahead.

• In the beginning of the story, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Lennie accidentally kills a mouse by petting it too hard. This foreshadows the tragic climax when Lennie accidentally kills Curly’s wife in a similar way.
• In The Empire Strikes Back, the audience is surprised to discover that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. This plot twist was foreshadowed when Luke was being trained by Yoda, and envisions his face under Darth Vader’s mask, hinting at his family tree.
• In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo’s reluctance to part with the One Ring at his birthday party foreshadows the power of the ring, and the hold it can take over the one who wears it.
• In Harry Potter, the scar that he got from Lord Voldemort when he was a baby causes him pain, suggesting that it means something important to the plot.