The Elements of Suspense

All Stories Contain Certain Elements Plot Character Setting Dialogue Narrative

Suspense Anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation Dictionary.com

In suspense there must be an unknown; a suspicion, a mystery, a danger we expect

Suspense (mystery, intrigue, tension) is built with: Facts Innuendo Atmosphere Action

Ways to deepen suspense… Dreams foreshadowing what may happen showing the character’s deepest fears, his haunting past

Ways to deepen suspense… Clues journals / diaries / letters / notes / pictures, etc. physical evidence that can be used to determine time of death, how, and where

Ways to deepen suspense… The Weather the season can match or contrast the characters’ emotional state

Ways to deepen suspense… The Senses the smell of blood, the stench of an alley the taste of fear reaction to finding a dead body the feel of blood-soaked clothing

Ways to deepen suspense… The Villain his/her motivations or intentions simple greed, jealousy, money the complicated serial killer mind

Ways to deepen suspense… Other characters plant red herrings shift suspicion onto them

Themes Concerning People Terror inflicted upon the often unknowing and innocent victim Innocent people caught up in events they cannot control Transference of guilt: innocent character’s failings are transferred to another character and magnified Explored the compatibility of men and women (especially a mother figure) The wrong man

Themes Concerning the Mind Guilt (real or the appearance of it) Redemption Early films reflected the political climate of Europe during the war Preferred to use suspense rather than surprise

The Nightmarish Mind of Edgar Allen Poe

Background Born 1809-1849 His mother died during his youth and his father abandoned them After the death of his grandmother, he married his 13-year-old cousin, Virginia in 1835 Virginia died in 1847 Died in 1849

Education of Poe Entered and dropped from both the University of Virginia and West Point Ran into debt and started borrowing money, gambling and getting deeper into debt

Writing Style of Poe Wrote in a Gothic Style Deep and intense Explorations of а world of dream and of nightmare In his stories the past is darker, more ominous and oppresses his heroes and heroines

Poe’s Characters Many of his characters are filled with madness Obsessed with the irrational side of the mind

Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale H E A R T

General Information Setting The story opens with the narrator telling readers that he is not mad. His narrative is supposed to be a vehicle to show he is not insane. The story is set in a house occupied by the narrator and an old man during the mid 1800’s.

General Information Genre Horror story and psychological thriller Story and Style The Tell Tale Heart is one of Poe’s shortest stories. It’s lack of detail only adds to its suspense by creating a mood of paranoia for the reader that mirrors the feelings of the narrator

Literary Focus Point of View The story is told in first-person point of view by an unreliable narrator. The narrator is obviously deranged, even though he declares at the outset that he is sane. As in many of his other short stories, Poe does not name the narrator.

Literary Focus Irony The irony of the story stems from the narrator’s claims of sanity being disproved by his own claims. Although he proclaims himself to be too calm to be a madman, he is defeated by a noise that may be interpreted as the beating of his own heart

Literary Focus Imagery and Repetition Poe’s use of sound throughout the narrative, combined by using repetition adds to the story’s suspense. The effect is a building of noise in the readers’ ears and a building of tension

Themes Mankind’s wicked side–another self Mankind’s paranoia Mankind’s Fear Mental Pressure and Fatigue Appearance vs. Reality Dark Appearances vs. Dark Thoughts

Character Analysis The Narrator Deranged unnamed person who tries to convince the reader that he is sane. He is intelligent and has the ability to commit a crime with skill and precision He nagged by what he calls heightened senses, something that is a condition found in several various Poe stories 

Character Analysis Character Analysis The Old Man: Neighbor: Three Policemen: Seemingly harmless elder who has a hideous "evil eye" that unnerves the narrator.  Person who hears a shriek coming from the house of the narrator and the old man, then reports it to the police.  Officers who search the narrator's house after a neighbor reports hearing a shriek.