DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES

CLIFFHANGER
It is popular with serialized and occurs
when characters are left in precipitous
situations, have a revelation at the end
of the episode.
For example;

Marvels Comics’ The Spectacular

Spider-Girl often features stories that
are “to be concluded” in the next issue;
a commonly used technique in comic
book series. They end in the midst of
major action, usually with Spider Girl
stuck in a dangerous situation.
FORESHADOWING
A technique in which reference is made of something that will play
an important role in future event of the story.

An advance sign or warning of what is to come in the future.

Naration can forshadow by telling you something is going to happen. Details are
often left out, but the suspense is created to keep readers interested. for example;
the character wakes up and the narrator talks about how this is going to be the
longest day of his/her life.
 PATHOS
A techniques in which author directly appeals to the emotion and imagintion of
the reader to elicit sympathy for a character in the story or the writer’s
perpective.

The appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking

certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.
Authors make deliberate word choices, use meaningful language, and use
examples and stories that evoke emotion.

for example;
in his poem “No Man Is an Island,” John Donne appeals to the reader’s emotions
of acceptance, belonging, and empathy:
 No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

By describing how all men are connected rather than isolated, Donne utilizes
pathos as an emotional appeal to readers of his poem. The feelings evoked by
the poet are grief and sympathy for all who die, because all death is an
individual loss and a loss for mankind as a whole.
 PLOT TWIST
It occurs when a sudden unexpected change happens that has directly
impact on the outcome of the story.

for example;
The ransom was ready, all the family and police had to do now was wait. Soon
they would have the kidnapper, and the man would get his wife back. As the
kidnapper entered the alleyway and picked up the bag of money, they switched
on the bright floodlights. “Stop right there, you’ve got nowhere to run!” yelled
the cop. “Remove your mask and put your hands where I can see them!” The
man began to remove his mask as everyone waited in anticipation. As he pulled
it from his face, the family collectively gasped—it wasn’t a man after all—it was
the kidnapped woman herself!
This passage reveals that the person who everyone is trying to
rescue from a kidnapping is actually the culprit herself. In this
plot twist, we learn that she’s been trying to trick everyone into
paying a ransom for her, but now she’s been caught.
 TICKING CLOCK SCENARIO
It elicits dramatic tension by placing a character in dangerous or intense
situation in which time is of the essence.

for example;
An evil villain has left a timebomb hidden somewhere that is set to explode.
The protagonist must disable the bomb in time.

The kidnappers have threatened to kill the hostage unless they receive the
ransom by a certain time. The protagonist's goal is to rescue the hostage
before the clock runs out.
 RED HERRING
It is when the reader’s attention is drawn to insignificant details in order to
divert attention from what is actually occuring in the plot.
A red herring is a deliberate and intentional distraction.
for example;
One red herring may be seen when a child avoids going to bed by asking his or her
parents many question. For instance, look at the conversation below between a
mother and son:

Mother: It is time to got to bed, Sam.

Son: But mom, how do dolphins sleep?
Mother: I don’t know, dear. Now go to sleep.
Son: But mom, how do they sleep underwater? They have to breathe, right?
You see in this discussion that the mother clearly wants her son to go to bed; however, the son tries to distract the
mother by asking her questions about dolphins. The important topic is going to bed, but the son tries to distract his
mother with questions so that he does not have to go to bed immediately.