Do you know about the concept of foreshadowing in literature? Usually, if you come across any authors or novelists, then you would know that foreshadowing is quite a famous concept of the literature world that is used as a device to explain certain things in a satirical way. The writers, novelist, or authors make use of the foreshadowing to offer a hint to the readers of something special that they will encounter in the later part of the story. The writers or authors have to be very particular about the usage of the foreshadowing concept because the slightest mistake would give away the entire plot of the story. It is an extremely wonderful literature device but only when used properly.
What is Foreshadowing?
You might have come across many books that are full of suspense or thriller or that make the story really dramatic – these effects are added to the storyline with the help of foreshadowing. With the help of foreshadowing, you can even add emotions, expressions, and various other things that will make the plot of the story extremely perfect. Sometimes the authors employ foreshadowing multiple times to draw suspicious behavior of the characters of the story.
Foreshadowing is used with a specific intention in the literature, fiction, and even in the poems to bring out a different impact in the way the work is expressed. The readers actually enjoy all such things and this is what encourages the writers, authors, and poets.
Types Of Foreshadowing
In this section, we will be helping you to understand the types of foreshadowing and how they can be used in the literature to weave the stories and in the poems to express the thoughts of the poet. Well, the possibilities in which you can make use of foreshadowing are many but you need to be very selective in working it out. The foreshadowing is classified into two major categories – direct and indirect.
- Direct foreshadowing: It is used when you wish to provide a direct hint or clue to the readers of the things that they would find in the story later on. This is a direct nudge to the readers to keep on reading.
- Indirect foreshadowing: it is used when you do not want to give away any direct message or hint to the readers and let a sense of suspense develop in the mind of the reader.
Foreshadowing can be used in many situations such as – Pre-scenes, Predictions, symbolism, Apprehension.
Examples Of “Foreshadowing” in Literature
Example 1: Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
You have seen what they have done to my dog tonight? They say he wasn’t any good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wish somebody would shoot me. But they won’t do anything like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I get no more jobs.”
Steinbeck utilizes foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men in a very subtle manner. Most readers are shocked by the ending of the novel. However, Steinbeck incorporates an earlier scene in the story that mirrors and hints at the final outcome. This foreshadowing takes place when the character Candy’s dog is shot as a “mercy killing.” Like Candy himself, his dog is growing old and has outlived his usefulness in the eyes of the ranch hands. Candy confesses to George the agony of his decision to let Carlson kill his dog, the regret of not having done so himself, and his fear that he will have nobody to put him out of his own misery when the time comes. This scene foreshadows the decision George must make regarding Lennie at the end of the novel.
Example 2: Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
By the pricking of my thumb, Something wicked this way comes.
In Shakespeare’s play, the second witch makes this pronouncement at Macbeth’s approach. Her statement indicates an intuitive sense of foreboding, symbolized by the witch’s physical sensation in her thumb. This is foreshadowing for the reader of the events to come in the story and Macbeth’s true nature as someone who is capable of betrayal and murder as a means of keeping his power as king.
Shakespeare’s use of direct foreshadowing in this scene confirms for the reader Macbeth’s guilt and corruption. Throughout the play, the witches speak “indirectly” through their prophecies and veiled predictions, all of which are subtle examples of foreshadowing that must be deciphered and interpreted by the reader. However, with this pointed and direct statement of foreshadowing, there is no doubt for Shakespeare’s audience that Macbeth deserves his outcome in the play.
Example 3 Lord Of The Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
FRODO: It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill [Gollum] when he had the chance.
GANDALF: Pity? It was a pity that it stayed in Bilbo’s hand. Many that die deserve life, and some that live deserve death. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.
Gandalf is a wise figure in the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings and has some prophetic powers. Frodo laments that the monstrous creature of Gollum is still alive to torment and obstruct him. However, Gandalf foreshadows an important role that Gollum will play. When Frodo finally brings the One Ring to Mount Doom but finds himself unable to destroy it, as it has gained power over him. Only the struggle with Gollum leads to the destruction of the ring, an event that Frodo cannot foresee.