Flashback, Foreshadowing, and Symbolism

Literary devices and techniques are used by authors to develop the plot of their stories. Some common devices include flashback and foreshadowing.

Literary Devices

Flashback is a technique used by authors to show readers something that happened before the time frame of the poem or story.

The author jumps back in time to tell about something that happened earlier.

Flashback

Interrupts the current action of the story to show a scene from the past

Includes memories, dreams, stories of the past told by characters, or even an interruption by the author.

Flashback

The purpose of the flashback is simple: it is a technique that bridges time, place and action to reveal information about the character, or move the story forward.

Many times, a writer throws a flashback into the story because he or she doesn't know how to move the story forward any other way

Why Flashback?

The Way

Into the Wild

Titanic

I am Legend

Flashbacks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px0j1EHF8Y0

An Example

An Examplehttp://movieclips.com/eyji-forrest-gump-movie-run-forrest-run/

“This is even worse than that time I…”

An example…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCEUp3IMt2o

Flashback PracticeI oil my hair and brush it soft.Then, with the brush in my lap,I gather the hair in my handsPull the strands smooth and tight,And weave three sections into a fat shiny braidThat hangs straight down my back.I remember Mama teaching me to plait my hairOne Saturday afternoon when chores were done.

My fingers were stubby and short.I could barely hold three strands at once,And my braids would fray apartNo sooner than I’d finished them.Mama said, “Just takes practice, is all.”Now my hands work swiftly, doing easyWhat was once so hard to do.

The flashback in the poem is when the narrator remembers one Saturday when she was young she remembers her mom teaching her to braid her hair.

The flashback contributes to the poem because it shows how the narrator feels good about her past and how she feels towards her mother. It also shows her growth of time.

Flashback Practice

Foreshadowing suggests events that have yet to occur in a work of literature.

Writers use foreshadowing to build their readers expectations and create suspense. Foreshadowing may also come from the mood that an author creates.

Foreshadowing

The author provides clues or hints as to what is going to happen later in the story. 

It’s like the music in a scary movie when we know that something bad is about to happen.

Foreshadowing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdXA6zNgqU

Foreshadowing Example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3nuq07vq0

Foreshadowing Example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTKpKBzd7jg

Foreshadow Example

1. A weapon found in a drawer might foreshadow a future crime in the story.

2. That morning on her way to work, Mary Ann took a gun from a cabinet in the garage, loaded it, and thrust it into her coat pocket.

What do you think the gun in the second example foreshadows?

Foreshadowing Examples

The second example could foreshadow Mary Ann doing something with the gun, such as robbing a bank, or attacking someone at her work.

Foreshadowing Example

“The roads are slick and dark on the path to Duke’s village. People fear the drive, because so many accidents have occurred over the years, and individuals go missing biweekly. Tonight, Kaulana will venture into the unknown darkness alone.”

What do you think the author is foreshadowing?

Another Foreshadowing Example

The author may be foreshadowing that Kaulana is going to go missing or that he may discover why so many people go missing.

Another Foreshadowing Example

A character, an action, a setting, or an object representing something else  

Most often, the symbol in a story is an object that represents its owner’s character or situation, or both. 

For example, a secluded, near-empty apartment might represent the loneliness and emotional emptiness of the person living there. 

Symbolism

The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling could be seen as containing a lot of symbolism.

For example, the use of a snake to represent evil. It is no coincidence that the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent.

Example of Symbolism

In William Blake's poem "The Lamb," the speaker tells the lamb that the force that made him or her is also called a lamb:

Little lamb, who made thee?

Little lamb, who made thee? Little lamb, I'll tell thee, Little lamb, I'll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a lamb;

The symbol of the lamb (representing innocence and purity) in the above lines relates to the symbolism of the lamb in Christianity, where Christ is referred to as The Lamb of God.

Another Example