The Devil and Daniel Webster

Writers use foreshadowing when they hint at future narrative events. For example, Benét opens with a narrative frame that foreshadows the end of the story. At the end of an extensive description of Webster, the narrator refers to the court case pitting Webster against the Devil, saying: “And the biggest case he argued never got written down in the books, for he argued it against the devil, nip and tuck and no holds barred. And this is the way I used to hear it told” (1). Combined with the preceding praise for Webster—e.g., the remark that he is trusted “right next to God Almighty” (1)—the comment suggests that he will be the victor of his match-up with Scratch.

An allusion is a reference either to another work of literature or to a well-known person, event, period, etc. While the historical figures that populate the story are not themselves allusions (allusions are typically brief and unexplained), their presence occasions many such references. For example, when Stone approaches Webster with his problem, Webster replies, “I’ve got about seventy-five other things to do and the Missouri Compromise to straighten out, but I’ll take your case” (4).