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In Horror films, when the frightening music begins to play, it is foreshadowing a scary event. Foreshadowing is when a piece of literature, text, or film give clues to what will happen in the near or distant future.
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DevinThe first sentence of David Copperfield ("Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life . . . ") foreshadows his ownership of the trials and lessons learned and his willingness to be his own judge.
Dickens uses foreshadowing and cultivates an atmosphere of mystery in order to make his story dramatic and capture our interest from the start. The surreal circumstances under which David is born, including the appearance of Miss Betsey, mark the first example of mystery in the novel. Although Miss Betsey is absent for much of the story, she returns when David is in his hour of most dire need. The darkness and abruptness established around Miss Betsey in the opening chapter characterize her throughout the novel. Likewise, David's comment that Little Em'ly might have been better off in the long run if the sea had swallowed her up as a child foreshadows painful events that come later. By alluding to these future difficult circumstances early in the novel, Dickens keeps us wondering what will happen to the various characters as the novel unfolds. Throughout David Copperfield, Dickens uses such foreshadowing not only to create suspense about future events but also to establish an ominous tone.
A common example of effective foreshadowing is in the novel "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," where the mysterious attacks on students by the monster in the Chamber are hinted at through various clues throughout the story, building suspense and anticipation for the final reveal of the true culprit.
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