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GCSE English Literature · key term
An ending that leaves an important situation unresolved, creating suspense about what will happen next.
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Paper 2
An ending that leaves an urgent question or situation unresolved, encouraging the audience to anticipate what comes next.
Revise: Plot overviewThe Inspector returns and asks, “Well?” at the end of Act 1. This short question creates a cliffhanger: Gerald’s full story is still to come.
An ending which leaves an important question or dangerous situation unresolved, creating suspense about what follows.
Explain the sequence that creates the Act 2 cliffhanger: Eric’s drinking, the description of the father, Sheila’s warnings, Mrs Birling’s demands for punishment and Eric’s entrance.
Explain what a method makes the audience notice, expect or question. Naming ‘dramatic irony’ or ‘a cliffhanger’ is not enough.
Create a free account to keep every note you open and track your progress.
An ending that leaves an important situation unresolved, making the audience want to discover what happens next.
A suspenseful ending that leaves an important question or event unresolved.
Paper 1
A tense or unresolved ending that makes the audience want to discover what happens next.
Revise: Act 1The question creates a cliffhanger, leaving Gerald’s full account for Act 2. Structurally, the act has moved from confidence to exposure: the seemingly secure engagement is now threatened by the past.
An ending that leaves an important situation unresolved, creating suspense about what happens next.
An unresolved ending that creates suspense about what will happen next.
An ending that leaves an urgent question or situation unresolved, creating suspense.
Paper 1
An ending that leaves an important question or danger unresolved, creating suspense.
Revise: Plot overviewEric’s return ends Act 2 on another cliffhanger.
The ending of a section at a moment of unresolved tension, encouraging the audience to continue watching or reading.
An ending that leaves an urgent situation unresolved, creating suspense about what will happen next.
An ending that leaves an important question or threatening situation unresolved, creating suspense.
Component 2
An ending that leaves a significant question or danger unresolved, creating suspense about what comes next.
Revise: Plot overviewThe question leaves Gerald’s story unresolved, creating a cliffhanger.
An ending that leaves an important situation unresolved at a moment of tension, encouraging the audience to anticipate what happens next.
A dramatic ending that leaves an urgent situation unresolved, creating suspense.
An ending that leaves a significant revelation, danger or question unresolved, sustaining suspense.
