Suspense is what maintains a state of tension in a certain situation.
Suspense is that which maintains the expectation of a resolution or the state of tension in a certain situation . In the field of art , it is a resource also known as suspense that seeks the impatient expectation of the viewer or reader for the development of an action .
Suspense, from the Latin suspensus , is experienced when one does not know what may happen to the characters in a work and, therefore, particular attention is generated regarding the development of the conflict. The resource is often used in police or horror movies or books.
For suspense to exist, the participation of the public is necessary, who must get involved with the events. The author has to suggest clues about the possible outcome of the conflict, so that the viewer or reader can infer or assume what is about to happen. The resolution of the knot, finally, must be specified logically and according to the plausibility of the genre .
Suspense in different works
For example: a famous suspense scene takes place in the film "Psycho" , by Alfred Hitchcock , when the murderer slowly approaches the shower where the protagonist is bathing. The combination of short shots and the soundtrack generated a great atmosphere of suspense that is completed with the screams of the murdered woman and the blood.
In addition to the aforementioned filmmaker, throughout the history of the seventh art, there are many other directors who have become true wizards of suspense. This would be the case, for example, of Wes Craven , who brought the famous "Scream" saga to the big screen; M. Night Shyamalan , with films such as "The Sixth Sense" or "The Forest" ; and Brian De Palma with productions such as "Carrie" .
However, we cannot ignore that suspense is not only present in cinema but also in literature. In this case, we should highlight the figure of Agatha Christie, the British writer who earned the nickname "lady of suspense."
And it developed an extensive bibliography supported by novels that revolved around murders and crimes of various kinds that were investigated by some of its best-known characters such as Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot . Among his most significant works is "Diez negritos" .
Suspense can be associated with a lack of resolution or indefinition.
The term in education
One of the areas in which the term we are analyzing is most used is in education . And it is used to refer to those exams taken by students who have not achieved a passing grade. This will mean that students will have to take a post-test in order to pass the corresponding subject.
A sentence that can serve as an example of this last meaning would be the following: «Eva has obtained a new failure in Mathematics even though this time she had studied a lot» .
Something that is on hold, finally, is that which has its fulfillment or resolution deferred : "The trip will be on hold until grandfather's health improves," "The salary cut forces us to put the purchase of the car on hold." .