Foreshadowing

For something in a story to be impactful, the reader must recognise its importance. This significance can be communicated through foreshadowing. 

Introduction

Foreshadowing helps an audience to understand and appreciate significant moments within a narrative, particularly towards the ending. 

Without foreshadowing, important revelations appear to come from nowhere, breaking the internal logic of a story and leaving the reader feeling unsatisfied.

Star Wars

Let's consider an example of foreshadowing from the 1977 film Star Wars. 

During the climax of the film, protagonist Luke Skywalker joins rebel starships in an attack against the Death Star—a gigantic space station built by the evil galactic empire. If the attack is not successful, the Death Star will soon destroy the rebel's own base.

After wave upon wave of rebel pilots are shot down by antagonist Darth Vader, Luke must complete an attack by himself. As he anxiously approaches his target, two significant things happen. 

The first, is that Luke hears the voice of his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi in his head. Obi-Wan repeats the advice he gave Luke earlier in the film, telling him to Use the Force (a mystical power that can help people in this setting). More confident, Luke continues his attack, but Vader is almost upon him. 

Then, the second significant thing happens. Luke's friend, Han Solo, suddenly appears and attacks Vader. This is surprising, as Han Solo is a mercenary who works only for money. However, Han's arrival is not entirely unexpected given Luke's earnest pleas for Han to help him earlier in the film. 

With Vader distracted, Luke is able to complete his attack and (spoilers) destroy the Death Star.

The success of this iconic scene is due to many factors: the stirring music by John Williams, the revolutionary special effects by John Dykstra, and the committed performances by Mark Hamill, Sir Alec Guinness, Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones. 

However, the truly memorable impact of this climax comes from the payoff of earlier foreshadowing. 

Without the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the help of his friend Han Solo, Luke Skywalker would never have been able to complete his mission. 

The audience had witnessed Luke forming relationships with both his mentor and his friend earlier in the story, and to see these relationships pay off during a moment of crisis is genuinely impactful.

Understanding Foreshadowing

While a piece of fiction need not reflect reality itself, it should at least reflect a reality that makes sense for the reader.

Foreshadowing helps to maintain this internal logic, ensuring that meaningful moments in a story appear plausible given the events that came before them.

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Juxtaposition