Previous
Foil
Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Key Examples in The Hound of the Baskervilles
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Stapleton's End:
Stapleton, who has spent two years learning the safe ways to travel through the Grimpen Mire, ends up being sucked into the mire when he flees from Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade after attempting to murder Sir Henry Baskerville.
Stapleton's fate is foreshadowed in Chapter 7, when Stapleton warns Watson about the dangers of Grimpen Mire:
Unlock with LitCharts A+'That is the great Grimpen Mire,’ said he. ‘A false step yonder means death to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for quite a long time craning out of the boghole, but it sucked him down at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger to cross it, but after these autumn rains it is an awful place. And yet I can find my way to the very heart of it and return alive.
Explanation and Analysis—Beryl Stapleton's Warning:
In Chapter 7, in an instance of foreshadowing, Beryl Stapleton tries to warn Watson, who has been with Jack Stapleton, that he is in grave danger. Though Watson doesn't know it, the seemingly harmless Stapleton is a cold-blooded, ruthless killer:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘I cannot explain.’ She spoke in a low, eager voice, with a curious lisp in her utterance. ‘But for God’s sake do what I ask you. Go back, and never set foot upon the moor again. [...] ‘Man, man!’ she cried. ‘Can you not tell when a warning is for your own good? Go back to London! Start tonight! Get away from this place at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word of what I have said.'
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Stapleton's Net:
In Chapter 11, Watson finds the mysterious Man on the Tor's hideout. Unnerved by his presence and this strange twist in events, Watson uses a metaphor to suggest the person behind these occurrences is a shrewd and cunning mastermind, one step ahead of him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Always there was this feeling of an unseen force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its meshes.
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Stapleton's Net:
In Chapter 11, Watson finds the mysterious Man on the Tor's hideout. Unnerved by his presence and this strange twist in events, Watson uses a metaphor to suggest the person behind these occurrences is a shrewd and cunning mastermind, one step ahead of him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Always there was this feeling of an unseen force, a fine net drawn round us with infinite skill and delicacy, holding us so lightly that it was only at some supreme moment that one realized that one was indeed entangled in its meshes.
Chapter 14
Explanation and Analysis—Stapleton's End:
Stapleton, who has spent two years learning the safe ways to travel through the Grimpen Mire, ends up being sucked into the mire when he flees from Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade after attempting to murder Sir Henry Baskerville.
Stapleton's fate is foreshadowed in Chapter 7, when Stapleton warns Watson about the dangers of Grimpen Mire:
Unlock with LitCharts A+'That is the great Grimpen Mire,’ said he. ‘A false step yonder means death to man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for quite a long time craning out of the boghole, but it sucked him down at last. Even in dry seasons it is a danger to cross it, but after these autumn rains it is an awful place. And yet I can find my way to the very heart of it and return alive.
