Despite its ubiquity, the cliffhanger has received little critical attention. This essay takes a closer look at the device, and finds that cliffhangers perform important functions for many narratives. Drawing on the rhetorical theory of narrative, I define the cliffhanger as a unique misalignment of story and discourse, and consider some of the device’s core features. I highlight aspects of the cliffhanger that demonstrate its range of functions: its effects on narrative progression, its role in highlighting continuity and discontinuity in the story, and its capacity to mislead readers in instrumental ways. I argue that we should attend to what cliffhangers have to say about the narratives they interrupt because cliffhangers are elements of authorial design that serve as signals for interpretation. Whether a cliffhanger misleads its reader or not, it makes a claim about the narrative it interrupts. Acknowledging these claims allows us to better understand how narratives maneuver readers to witness a story as it unfolds.

中文翻译：

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在悬崖上

尽管它无处不在，但悬念却很少受到批评。这篇文章仔细研究了这个装置，发现悬念在许多叙事中发挥着重要作用。借鉴叙事的修辞理论，我将悬念定义为故事和话语的独特错位，并考虑了该装置的一些核心特征。我强调了悬念的各个方面，展示了它的功能范围：它对叙事进程的影响，它在突出故事连续性和不连续性方面的作用，以及它以工具方式误导读者的能力。我认为我们应该注意悬念对他们打断的叙述有什么看法，因为悬念是作者设计的元素，可以作为解释的信号。无论悬念是否误导读者，它对它打断的叙述提出了主张。承认这些主张使我们能够更好地理解叙事如何引导读者在故事展开时见证它。