How Does Susan Hill Create Tension in the Woman in Black?

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Susan hill creates tension in many ways. Hill refers to the weather quite frequently in the novel, it is used to set the tone of the story and to provide teasing hints which build up the tension. This changes the mood of the novel at the time. At the beginning the weather is described with “We had had rain, thin, chilling rain and a mist that lay low above the house,” which implies that something should be happening soon but it doesn’t reveal the events. The weather at the start of the horror story is much worse, and it begins with an exaggerated description of the fog in London. “Fog was outdoors, hanging over the river, creeping in and out of alleyways and passages, swirling thickly between the bare trees of all the parks and gardens of the city,” Hill also occasionally uses the weather to build tension like above, but not because of the main events. This is to keep the reader interested and entice the reader. For example “the train had stopped, and the only sound to be heard was the moan of the wind” sounds like it will lead to something very sinister. Another way that Hill creates tension is her choice of particular words and phrases, such as “I plunged out into the choking London fog.” This is a good example because the use of the word ‘plunged out’ makes it seem like there is more of a risk than if it was to simply say walk out. The final sentence of chapter one, “When it was over, I would have work to do” is an example of how individual phrases are used. This creates an atmosphere that suggests what will come next without having to spend another page building up the

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