Suspense is a literary device that authors use to keep their readers’ interest alive throughout the work. It is a feeling of anticipation that something risky or dangerous is about to happen. The purpose of using this type of anxiety in literature is to make readers more concerned about the characters, and to form sympathetic association with them. Therefore, authors create scenarios that could force readers to understand and to want to read on to see what their beloved characters face the next.

Function

Suspense ensures the interest of readers by putting them on the edges of their seats, waiting for what’s next. If an author does this well, suspense continues to increase gradually until the climax, or the turning point, and final confrontation is reached. Writers and authors use suspense to create empathy with their readers by giving their characters internal struggles with which readers can identify. Readers feel apprehension for their beloved characters whenever they are in danger.