What is Foreshadowing in Literature? (Definition)
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives hints or clues about events that will happen later in the narrative. These hints can be subtle—a passing comment, an image, a seemingly insignificant detail—or explicit, as in Shakespeare's use of prologues that reveal the ending before the play begins.
Effective foreshadowing creates a sense of anticipation and, upon rereading, reveals how carefully the writer constructed the narrative. It rewards attentive readers and creates dramatic tension by letting the audience sense that something significant is approaching.
Examples of Foreshadowing
Example 1: Foreshadowing in Romeo and Juliet
Before entering the Capulet ball where he will meet Juliet, Romeo senses that the night will set in motion events leading to his death. The audience, already told by the Prologue that Romeo will die, feels the weight of this premonition.
Example 2: Foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men
Candy's regret about letting Carlson shoot his old dog quietly foreshadows the novel's final scene, in which George chooses to kill Lennie himself rather than let Curley's mob do it. Steinbeck plants the lesson—if you love something, you must be the one to end it—long before George has to act on it.
Example 3: Foreshadowing in Jane Eyre
Jane hears this strange laugh on the third floor of Thornfield long before she learns what it is. Brontë plants the sound as a clue the reader can collect across many chapters, foreshadowing the eventual revelation of Bertha Mason locked in the attic. The laugh is naturalised by Mrs Fairfax as Grace Poole's, but the detail that it is mirthless quietly tells the attentive reader something is wrong.