## *Foreshadowing & Irony (VWO)

Have you ever seen a movie with a storyline that seems hard to follow and events that seem random, and only make sense when you get to the big reveal at the end? And then you want to watch the movie again, just to spot all the clues you've missed that foreshadowed (hinted at) the resolution of the story?
Shutter Island, The Village and The Sixth Sense are just a few of the mystery/detective/horror movies that use this technique of foreshadowing to create suspense.

Foreshadowing often has an element of irony in it.

For example:

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."

These are the first lines of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The lines foreshadow how decidedly not-normal the Dursleys' life would become with Harry in their house. They are also dripping with irony, because the Dursleys were going to be in the middle of some of the most strange and mysterious events in the wizarding world (which is, of course, strange in itself).

Activity 1:
- Look up what irony means
- Think of 2 examples of irony in a book you've read or a movie/TV-series you've watched.
Having a hard time thinking of examples? Use the internet.

Make sure you understand irony and how it is used in your examples well enough to explain to someone else (in English).

Back to 'The Landlady'

There are quite a lot of clues in 'The Landlady' that foreshadow the resolution of the story. Ironically, Mr. Weaver himself registered and thought about the clues, but didn't realize what they meant until it was too late.

Activity 2:
List all the clues that foreshadow the resolution of the story 'The Landlady'.
Reread (parts of) the story if you have to!