Foreshadowing
It was a perfect day for a picnic. The morning was bright and clear with a few scattered
clouds of the white, fluffy variety that kids find pictures in. Roses were in bloom, and birds
sang outside my window. Nothing could go wrong on such a perfect day. Or so I, in my
childlike innocence thought.
Sometimes an author gives the reader clues or suggestions about events which will later occur in a narrative. This technique is called foreshadowing. In the paragraph above, for example, the narrator suggests that something will happen to mar the perfect day. At this point in the story you don’t know what this event is. It may be a humorous episode, such as a cow devouring the narrator’s picnic lunch. It may be a tragic event, such as a drowning or an automobile accident.
Not all foreshadowing is as obvious as that in the example above. Frequently, future events are merely hinted at through dialogue, description, and the attitudes and reactions of the characters.
Foreshadowing frequently serves two purposes. First, it builds suspense by raising questions in the reader’s mind. It encourages him to read on and find out more about the event that is being foreshadowed. Foreshadowing is also a means of making the ending believable.
Foreshadowing: an author’s use of hints or clues about events which will occur later in a narrative.
“Foreshadowing.” Counterpoint in Literature. Robert C. Pooley, ed. Sacramento: CA Department of Education, 1969,p. 547. Print.
It was a perfect day for a picnic. The morning was bright and clear with a few scattered
clouds of the white, fluffy variety that kids find pictures in. Roses were in bloom, and birds
sang outside my window. Nothing could go wrong on such a perfect day. Or so I, in my
childlike innocence thought.
Sometimes an author gives the reader clues or suggestions about events which will later occur in a narrative. This technique is called foreshadowing. In the paragraph above, for example, the narrator suggests that something will happen to mar the perfect day. At this point in the story you don’t know what this event is. It may be a humorous episode, such as a cow devouring the narrator’s picnic lunch. It may be a tragic event, such as a drowning or an automobile accident.
Not all foreshadowing is as obvious as that in the example above. Frequently, future events are merely hinted at through dialogue, description, and the attitudes and reactions of the characters.
Foreshadowing frequently serves two purposes. First, it builds suspense by raising questions in the reader’s mind. It encourages him to read on and find out more about the event that is being foreshadowed. Foreshadowing is also a means of making the ending believable.
Foreshadowing: an author’s use of hints or clues about events which will occur later in a narrative.
“Foreshadowing.” Counterpoint in Literature. Robert C. Pooley, ed. Sacramento: CA Department of Education, 1969,p. 547. Print.