Imagine you’re watching your favourite film, playing a video game or exploring a piece of software when you suddenly stumble upon an unexpected clue, a hint, a hidden message or even a playful inside joke.
These are called “Easter eggs”, and hidden treasures await those who seek them out. Though often associated with the digital world, Easter eggs are more than just pixelated secrets — they are delightful surprises that transcend various forms of media and creativity.
Easter eggs, in the context of media and entertainment, are hidden elements deliberately placed by creators for their followers to discover. These hidden gems can take many forms, including references to other works, references to popular culture, or cryptic messages. Most commonly found in video games, films, music, paintings and software, Easter eggs can also be found in literature, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the written word.
Although they can spoil (for those who know the reference) or foreshadow upcoming events in stories, they are not part of literary devices.
You know the what is the easter egg in this famous painting. The Last Supper By Leonardo da Vinci
All right, we know what they are and where to find them. But why do they exist in the first place? Well, the first reason is to stimulate curiosity. They engage the audience, reward their curiosity and encourage them to explore the work further.
Writers use Easter eggs to pay homage to their predecessors, their inspirations, their favourite works, or even to connect their creations to a wider cultural context. They usually do this by naming their characters after their favourite authors. I also try to do it to show my respect for those who have played a big part in my life while I was writing my stories, whether they are from the world of literature or not.
Injecting such elements of fun and surprise into the work enhances the overall experience for the audience. Discovering them for the first time is a great pleasure for readers.
They can also foster a sense of community among fans as they share their discoveries and work together to uncover hidden secrets. They can allow people to create fandoms (fan sites with content-related information), attract more followers for authors and readers for books, or give clues about the authors’ mindset and hobbies.
They can also be useful. They can foreshadow an event, reveal a character, create inside jokes, provide clues and cryptic messages, or make the reader feel like they are on to something important. Sometimes you need to become a mini-Sherlock Holmes. Better bring your magnifying glass..
Photo by Mark König on Unsplash
Let’s look at some examples. I assume you’ve read some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. In his books there are several inscriptions that frame the first page. They may seem ornamental, but they actually contain a hidden message for the reader, written in the language he created.
Stephen King’s novel “It” has a character who becomes the protagonist of his next novel. This could be a hint that these books share the same world, or even the same universe.
Like the “Harry Potter” series, many other novels have character names with hidden meanings and references to mythology, folklore and Latin phrases.
Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” contains hidden references to Shakespeare’s works and biblical allusions. The names of the characters, such as Ishmael and Ahab, are symbolic.
Lewis Carroll’s whimsical tale in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is full of linguistic and mathematical puzzles. Character names and nonsensical puns are Easter eggs for readers to decipher.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” has one of the most famous numbers, 42, which Douglas Adams famously described as “the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything” in the book. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this easter egg in other sci-fi novels, series and video games.
Photo by Stoica Ionela on Unsplash
Just as the egg symbolises rebirth, art begets art. In the novels you read, things can take on a new meaning when you discover them later. That’s why I love it when authors add these hidden pieces and let us find them.
I think one of the most satisfying feelings for a reader is to discover them years later, in a random conversation, in another work that seems completely unrelated, or when you reread it after a while.
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