What Is Foreshadowing – Examples in Film and Literature

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where a plot twist completely shocked you, but when you went back through it, you noticed all the now-obvious clues that had been subverting the story all along? You’re not alone. Those clues are a form of foreshadowing, a powerful storytelling technique that can make even the wildest ending feel earned. Using foreshadowing in your story can create anticipation and keep your audience engaged until the very end.

Foreshadowing

When used well, foreshadowing can be a very effective way to hook your audience. If it’s too obvious, the audience may lose interest. If it’s too subtle, they may miss it entirely.

Before we look at examples of foreshadowing in film, we first need to define it and understand its function. What is foreshadowing, exactly? How does it help you tell your story?

What Is Foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is a literary device used to hint at or signal future events in a story. It can be a highly effective tool for building curiosity, intrigue, suspense, or even a sense of narrative harmony by the end of a film or novel. Writers often use foreshadowing early in a story to set up later events. “Hint” and “omen” are both synonyms for foreshadowing. While you can categorize types of foreshadowing by how subtle or direct they are, its main purpose is to capture the audience’s attention.

• Creating suspense
• Dramatic build-up
• Fostering anticipation

Two Types of Foreshadowing

Now that you know the definition of foreshadowing, you may already be calling to mind examples from books or films. All of these fall into one of two basic types of foreshadowing.

Direct foreshadowing is when an element in the story clearly and explicitly suggests an event that is going to happen. This can be done through dialogue, a narrator, or a prophecy within the story.

An example of direct foreshadowing can be found in Macbeth.

Shakespeare opens with three witches plainly stating Macbeth’s fate: that he “shalt be king hereafter,” while Banquo will be the father of future kings.

This is a clever use of direct foreshadowing because it gives us information while still making us — and the characters — want to know more. Why will Macbeth become king if Banquo’s line ultimately takes the throne?

Indirect foreshadowing is when elements of the story hint at what’s coming through subtle clues. These hints are not obvious, and only become fully meaningful once the events they foreshadow have occurred.

Of Mice and Men is a great example.

Throughout the book, we hear about Lennie accidentally killing things when he pets them. This lays the groundwork for the climactic moment between Lennie and Curley’s wife.

Although there may be two basic ways to define foreshadowing, both can be equally effective when used correctly. At the core, the goal of using this technique is to engage the audience’s attention.

Foreshadowing vs. Other Devices

Foreshadowing can be confused with, or used to refer to, several other literary devices. Let’s look at some terms that are often associated with foreshadowing.

Chekhov’s gun is a very famous form of foreshadowing. The principle, drawn from Anton Chekhov’s work, is simple: if a gun appears in the first act, it must be fired by the final act.

The point of the rule is that details you emphasize early in the story should come back later and matter. Sound familiar? That’s foreshadowing.

A red herring uses the audience’s familiarity with foreshadowing against them. Suppose we see a gun hidden under a pillow in the first act — we assume this is foreshadowing that the gun will be used later. If the gun turns out to be fake or never used at all, that’s a red herring. Red herrings are story elements designed to lead us in one direction so that we’ll be surprised later.

Foreshadowing hints at the future; a flashforward shows us the future. But a flashforward can be vague enough that it functions as a hint. For example, we see a close-up of someone pulling a gun from under a pillow, but we don’t know who it is or why they’re doing it, and then we cut back to events before that moment is revealed. That’s foreshadowing.

Examples of Foreshadowing in Literature

Foreshadowing existed in books long before it appeared in films. Writers in any genre can learn from the following examples.

In William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, there are several moments of foreshadowing. Romeo says, “Then love-devouring death do what he dare; It is enough I may but call her mine.” This (rather clearly) hints at the fate of Romeo and his beloved.

Juliet also dreams of Romeo dead at the bottom of a tomb. This, too, foreshadows that things are not going to end well.

The ending of “The Monkey’s Paw” is also quite grim, and it doesn’t come without warning. The previous owner of the magical talisman warns Mr. White: “I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don’t blame me for what happens. Like a sensible man, let it burn.”

Most readers, after seeing this, become alert and start to worry that things will only get worse.

Yet another bleak story. John Steinbeck hints at Lennie’s fate (spoiler alert) in his famous work. In the book, a character describes at length how animals that are too weak to survive in this harsh world should be killed for their own good. As the story develops, George begins to believe that Lennie may fit this description as well.

Examples of Foreshadowing in Film

Although there are two main types of foreshadowing, filmmakers have found ways to use almost every tool of cinema to foreshadow story events, from the title to a character’s costume. Analyzing and breaking down some of these examples can help you spot foreshadowing opportunities in your own stories that you may never have noticed before.

Sometimes, a film’s title itself foreshadows the story. This method has to be vague enough to spark curiosity before the audience watches the film, yet clear enough to make sense once the credits roll. The Coen brothers did this perfectly in their 2007 film No Country for Old Men.

The title, taken from writer and screenwriter Cormac McCarthy’s novel, hints that Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is no longer suited to deal with the new generation of crime he encounters.

“When you have insomnia, everything is a copy of a copy of a copy.”

Fight Club is one of the most notable plot-twist films in recent years. On a second or even third viewing, you might notice subtle clues throughout that foreshadow the fact that Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) isn’t real, including this line of voice-over.

If you’ve seen The Departed, you know it’s full of twists and almost every major character dies — but did you know that director Martin Scorsese left very explicit clues about which characters would die? Borrowing from the 1932 film Scarface, Scorsese places an “X” in the frame with characters who are going to be killed.

This classic “whodunit” keeps the audience guessing and engaged right up until the last moment. How? The Usual Suspects skillfully balances subtle, indirect foreshadowing with quick, direct foreshadowing moments that tie everything together. The result is a plot twist that remains one of the most celebrated more than twenty years later.

That incredible final scene has been copied and parodied for years after its release, largely because of how effectively it brings together all the foreshadowing clues to close the story.

The Prestige is another great example that uses just enough foreshadowing to intrigue the audience without giving away its major twists. One of the film’s most memorable scenes is Alfred performing the birdcage trick, in which he kills a bird and then brings it back.

Foreshadowing is one of the most effective tools filmmakers use to spark curiosity and hold the audience’s attention. But it’s important to understand how much foreshadowing a story needs, and of what kind. Too much can make a story predictable and cause the audience to lose interest. Too little can make it dull or confusing, with the same result.

Try identifying a few moments in your own story where you can apply some foreshadowing techniques and see which ones work for you.