Stylistic classification of the english vocabulary

g) Suspense (Retardation)

Suspense is a compositional device which consists in deliberate delaying of the thought, postponing its com­pletion till the end of the utterance. The less important parts are placed at the beginning of the utterance. Thus the reader's attention is held and his interest kept up. E.g.:

Mankind, says Chinese manuscript, which my friend M. was obliging enough to read and explain to me, for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw. (C. Lamb)

Sentences of this type are called periodic sentences, or periods. Their function is to create suspense, to keep the reader in a state of uncertainty and expectation.

Suspense and climax sometimes go together. In this case all the information is arranged in the order of grada­tion.

The device of suspense is especially favoured by ora­tors. This is due to the influence of intonation which helps to create the desired atmosphere of expectation and emo­tional tension.

Suspense always requires long stretches of speech or writing. Sometimes the whole of a poem is built on this stylistic device, as is the case with Kipling's poem "If" where all the eight stanzas consist of if-clause and only the last two lines constitute the principle clause:

//you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

And make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can dream and not make dreams your master,

If you can think and not make thoughts your aim,

Yours is the earth everything that's in it,...

And which is more, you '11 be a Man, my son.

The main purpose of this device is to prepare the reader for the only logical conclusion of the utterance.

Sometimes the conclusion of the suspended utterance goes contrary to the expectation and then this stylistic device is used for humorous effect.