1. Suspense Short Story Unit
Characteristics

2. Literary Elements
Literary Elements such as irony, foreshadowing, symbolism, imagery, and even poetic elements such as simile, metaphor, and personification are often used in short stories.

3. What is IRONY?
Definition in your book: “the contrast between appearance and actuality”

4. There are different types of IRONY
Dramatic Irony
Readers know more about a situation or a character in a story than the characters do.

5. Situational Irony
A contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

6. Verbal Irony
Occurs when someone states one thing and means another.

7. Short Story Techniques
Foreshadowing
A writers use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur in a story.
Symbolism
Something or someone that has a concrete meaning in itself but stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea or feeling.

8. Flashback
A scene that interrupts the action of a story to describe events that took place at an earlier time.

9. Short Story Techniques
Imagery
Words or phrases that appeal to any combination of the senses.
Suspense
The excitement or tension that readers feel as they become involved in a story and eagerly await the outcome.

10. Poetic Devices Used in Short Stories
Simile
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two objects using “like” or “as”
Metaphor
A figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common.
-Does not use “like” or “as”

11. What are these statements examples of?
My love is like a red rose.
My love is a red rose.
Mr. Harris has thin hair like a bald eagle.
He is as dumb as a rock.
Famous quote by Jesus: “I am the bread of life”
“I am the King of Pop”

12. Poetic Devices Used in Short Stories
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object, animal, or idea, is given human characteristics.
Sometimes, other poetic devices might be used in short stories such as:
Onomatopoeia
Repetition
Etc…

13. Examples The wind whispered in my ear
“The dish ran away with the spoon”
Personification used to add suspense:
Fear danced upon my chest

14. Other things to consider…
When reading suspense short stories, one should also pay special attention to the use of setting and characterization. Suspense writers often use setting and the way a character is described to add suspense to a story.

15. Setting: A House (Use of suspense comparison)
The house on Elm Street had a few broken windows and an old door. There was no electricity in it so with my fear of the dark, I was weary to enter it.
The moldering manor on Elm Street had jagged windows that could stare a hole through you. It was so dark and dreary that my heart sat in my throat as I walked through the creaky old door.