This question is based on Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights Take my colt, gipsy, then! said young Earnshaw…

Analyze the question

The quote is from Hindley Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. Hindley is bitter that Heathcliff, the "gipsy" his father brought home, has taken his father's affection. When Heathcliff's own colt goes lame, Heathcliff demands that Hindley swap horses with him and threatens to show Mr. Earnshaw the bruises from Hindley's blows. Hindley says, in effect, "Take my colt, gipsy, then! And I pray that he may break your neck; take him, and be damned, you beggarly interloper! And wheedle my father out of all he has: only afterwards show him what you are, imp of Satan."

The question asks which literary device the statement exemplifies.

Explain the concepts

• Premonition: a foreboding or warning of something that will happen. Hindley's words predict that Heathcliff will "wheedle" away the family's property and later show what he truly is, and this is exactly what happens. Heathcliff does take over Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and he reveals a cruel nature.
• Point of view: the perspective from which a story is narrated. This passage is a character's dialogue, not a narrative stance.
• Flashback: a return to an earlier event. The passage is a scene within Nelly's narration, but the statement itself is not what makes it a flashback.
• Epistolary: a story told through letters or diary entries. The statement is spoken, so this does not apply.

Solution

Hindley's angry words work as a prophecy of Heathcliff's future behaviour. He says Heathcliff will wheedle his father out of all he has and later show what he is, and the novel bears this out. The statement therefore foreshadows later events. Foreshadowing in the form of a character's foreboding is best described as a premonition, so A fits best.

Note: Option C could tempt you because Nelly narrates past events, but the question asks about the statement itself, which looks forward rather than back.

Answer: A. premonition

Exam tip: When a character's remark hints at what will happen later in the plot, think foreshadowing or premonition. Remember: flashback looks back, premonition looks ahead.