Norman begins the narrative in the present and introduces the reader to Fabian, a character who is a bird artist but also a murderer. I discovered my gift for drawing and painting birds early on. Yet I murdered the lighthouse keeper, Botho August, and that is an equal part of how I think of myself. Obscurity is not necessarily failure, though I am a bird artist, and have more or less made a living at it. In this poem, Forché continues to use flashback in order to bring the reader increasingly deep into the past and memory while reminding the reader that the speaker is rooted in the present, as is emphasized by the line “ Go wherever you can but keep returning to the present.” Example 2įor a second example of flashback, read the beginning of Howard Norman’s novel The Bird Artist:

I was born in American just after the war. In the next section, we are launched further into the past with another flashback: Go wherever you can but keep returning to the present. In the third section, we return to the present:īelieving it possible to have back the field in its flowering, my friend hasīrought me here, has given me an open window, the preludes, anĮcho of my son’s laughter on the rumpled lake. We know this because her son, now a man, is just being born: In the next section of the poem, we are launched into the past with a flashback. The moon slips from its cerement, and my son, already disappearing intoĪ man, moves toward his bed for the night, wrapped in a towel Example 1įor an example of flashback in literature, consider Carolyn Forché’s poem Blue Hour. They explain personalities and actions of characters and explore the significance of memories recalled in the present moment. A large part of a character’s essence can be found in the past and the memories which resurface over time.įlashbacks provide poems and prose with a more interesting landscape than a purely chronological narrative. Flashback is a necessary element of most plots, as we gain information about nearly everything from referencing the past. Flashbacks can thicken plots, create dynamic and complex characters, reveal information otherwise left unspoken, or surprise the audience with shocking secrets. As is true in real life, sometimes information about characters, places, or things is only revealed when the past is abruptly pulled forth, mentioned, or remembered. The memory serves to guide the hero in the present with a clue pulled from his past.įlashback is important in that it adds complication and depth to a narrative that is otherwise straightforward and chronological. In this scene, the flashback is the memory of the nemesis saying something. Suddenly, he remembers his nemesis saying “Dark things happen in dark alleys.” He hurries towards a hidden alleyway. This flashback works as a memory and part of the superhero’s thought-process:Ī superhero is struggling to figure out where his nemesis would keep a hostage. The memory brings a tear of happiness to her eye. The memory serves to show that her fiancé was sure of their relationship early on, and that his prediction has come true. Here, the flashback is the memory of the woman’s fiancé three years before. A tear comes to her eye and she prepares to walk down the aisle. As she puts on her veil, she remembers her fiancé three years before, swearing he would make her his wife someday. Here is another example of flashback as a memory:Ī woman is about to get married. The flashback serves to reveal that the man had an early passion for animals and has now, as an adult, made a fantastic discovery in that area of science. In this example, the flashback happens when the man remembers his childhood. He smiles at the memory, and then begins to speak to the audience about a new, groundbreaking finding about frogs. Suddenly, he remembers playing with frogs and toads in his backyard as a curious child. Example 1įor example of flashback, consider the following short story interrupted by flashback:Ī man is about to give a speech to a large audience on biology. It can be announced or unannounced in the line of narrative. Often, flashbacks are abrupt interjections that further explain a story or character with background information and memories.įlashback can occur as a sudden thought sequence, a hazy dream, or a vivid memory. Flashback is a device that moves an audience from the present moment in a chronological narrative to a scene in the past.

Flashback examples that are short