Foreshadowing — English definition
A hint or clue about something that will happen later in the story.
Where it is taught
- Text Structure & Order of Events — Close Reading & Literary Analysis, English 9: Experience, Perspective & Inquiry, Grade 9
In use
Foreshadowing works in the opposite direction: it plants a small, easily missed hint of something to come, so that a later event feels startling and yet somehow inevitable.
Text Structure & Order of Events
Questions using foreshadowing
Problem 1
Explain how foreshadowing can make an ending feel satisfying rather than random.
Answer and explanation
Foreshadowing plants small clues earlier in the story, so when a twist or ending happens, careful readers can look back and see it was set up all along — making it feel earned rather than out of nowhere.