Foreshadowing: GCSE English Definition

What is foreshadowing?

In GCSE English Literature and GCSE English Language, foreshadowing is a device used by writers to provide a hint about something that will occur later in the text. 

Why do writers use foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing can be used to build the reader’s anticipation or to set up a plot twist. Foreshadowing can be overt or subtle, but it never spoils later plot events. Instead, it usually helps to keep the reader engaged by increasing the suspense.

Foreshadowing is not the same thing as a flash-forward, a technique in which the writer describes later plot events in explicit detail. While both techniques involve giving the reader a sense of what is to come, foreshadowing does not involve a time jump — it only ever hints at what is in store, and its meaning is not always obvious until later events transpire. 

Examples of foreshadowing

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this” is an example of simple foreshadowing as it creates suspense because the reader expects that something bad could happen at any moment. 

“The Titanic — she sails next week… unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” — Mr Birling, Act 1, An Inspector Calls

In the first act of the play, Priestley presents the Mr Birling as a caricature of arrogant, exploitative business owners. Mr Birling’s inaccurate prediction about the Titanic being unsinkable gives Priestley’s 1945 audience reason to mistrust his judgement. It also foreshadows how this character will suffer his own personal tragedy, a shocking fall from grace, before the end of the play.

Revision resources to ace your exams

For study guides on how to analyse foreshadowing in literary texts, and how best to include foreshadowing in your own creative writing, check out our detailed revision notes. All our notes are course-specific, so everything you’ll need to ace your exams is in one place!

GCSE English Literature Revision Notes 

GCSE English Language Revision Notes

For more literary techniques, check out our list of 127 top literary devices, complete with student-friendly definitions.