Suspense

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​https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/suspense/video/

​https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/suspense/video/

Suspense is a literary device that authors use to keep readers interested. It is a state of anticipation that comes from not knowing what will happen next. Suspense is usually associated with the mystery and horror genres of literature, but it can be found in nearly every type of writing.

Multiple Choice

__________________is a state of excitement or nervousness that comes from not knowing what will happen next.

• Dialogue

• Suspense

• Inference

• Hyperbole

Multiple Choice

His poem was full of beautiful _________;

felt as though I could smell and see the flowers just from reading it.

• Irony

• Suspense

• Imagery

• Dialogue

Multiple Choice

_____________________is another technique. What’s that? That’s when the reader knows more than a character.

• Dramatic Irony

• Verbal Irony

• Situational Irony

• Argument

Multiple Choice

The main character in this novel is a teenage girl who just moved to a new town, and the story is told from her _______________.

• Style

• Point of View

• Irony

• Suspense

Multiple Choice

The lead character or hero in a work of art is known as the __________.

• Villian

• Suspense

• Protagonist

• Climax

Multiple Choice

The person who tells the story

• Narrator

• Protagonist

• Rachel

• Josias

Multiple Choice

Language that describes something very vividly so that readers can understand it with their senses.

• Imagery

• Alliteration

• Suspense

• Figurative

Multiple Choice

A writing style where the narrator is one of the characters in the story, often using the pronouns "I," "me," or "my".

• First Person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Multiple Choice

There are a few ways authors create suspense. They may write the story from a limited point of view—from the perspective of one character, usually the protagonist. This means the reader and the protagonist have the same amount of information throughout the story. The author can slowly reveal details to keep readers on their toes. An author’s use of setting and imagery can also develop suspense. A dark night, stormy weather, or an ominous image like a raven or a graveyard immediately create a suspenseful mood. Another technique for developing suspense is dramatic irony. When the audience knows more than a character in a story, suspense is no longer about not knowing what will happen, but rather when it will happen, and when the character will find out.

Which of these is true about a limited point of view?

• The protagonist and the reader have the same information.

• The protagonist knows more than the reader.

• The reader knows more than the protagonist.

• The reader slowly reveals details to the protagonist.

Multiple Choice

Read the following excerpt from “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.

According to the narrator, what made him decide to kill the old man?

• The old man had insulted the narrator’s honor

• The old man had killed the narrator’s wife.

• The narrator wanted to steal the old man’s gold.

• The narrator was afraid of the old man’s eye.

Open Ended

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer of poetry and short stories. He is well known for his gruesome horror stories. From the very beginning of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Poe builds suspense and tension. He tells the story from a first-person point of view, throwing the reader into the mind of the narrator, who may or may not be insane. Poe also relies on dramatic irony to create suspense. What is dramatic irony? (Type your response)

Open Ended

Dramatic irony is a technique that authors use to build suspense.

Come up with one suspenseful example of dramatic imagery.

Example: The audience knows an intruder is hiding in the kitchen, but Henry doesn’t. He opens the kitchen door.

Open Ended

Imagery is a technique that authors use to build suspense.

Come up with one suspenseful example of imagery.

Example: a skull

Open Ended

Describing an eerie setting is a technique that authors use to build suspense. Come up with a suspenseful example of a setting.

Example: an abandoned house in the woods