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A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction. A cliffhanger is hoped to ensure the audience will return to see how the characters resolve the dilemma. Some serials end with the caveat "To Be Continued..." or "The End?" In movie serials and television series the following episode sometimes begins with a recap sequence. ==History== An early example of a cliffhanger is found in Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. At the end of Book 4, The Suitors, the villains are setting an ambush for Telemachus, Odysseus' son; the story then moves on to Odysseus' own adventures, and much of the narrative passes before readers can learn Telemachus' fate. A cliffhanger is a central theme and framing device of the collection of stories known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights'', wherein the queen Scheherazade, who is facing a morning execution on the orders of her husband, King Shahryar, devises the solution of telling him a story but leaving it at a cliffhanger, thus forcing the king to postpone her execution to hear the rest of the tale. The nineteenth century was a high point in the writing of serialized fiction. At the time, newspapers published novels with one chapter appearing every month. To ensure continued interest in the story, many authors employed techniques appropriate to that medium. Wilkie Collins is famous for saying about the techniques: "Make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em wait—exactly in that order." He is famous for the Sensation Novel, which relied heavily upon the cliffhanger. Examples of his endings include: "The next witnesses called were witnesses concerned with the question that now followed—the obscure and terrible question: Who Poisoned Her?" (''The Law and the Lady'') "Why are we to stop her, sir? What has she done?" "Done! She has escaped from my Asylum. Don't forget; a woman in white. Drive on." (''The Woman in White'') "You can marry me privately today," she answered. "Listen--and I will tell you how!" (''Man and Wife'')" This anticipation and conversation-inducing authorial technique would often be very contrived as the only purpose was to maintain interest in the monthly serial. Therefore, these were regularly removed from the plot when the serial was published as a full novel. The cliff-hanger migrated to film and is best known from the popular silent film series ''The Perils of Pauline'' (1914), shown in weekly installments and featuring Pearl White as the title character, a perpetual damsel in distress who was menaced by assorted villains, with each installment ending with her placed in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death – to escape at the beginning of the next installment only to get into fresh danger at its end. Specifically, an episode filmed around the New Jersey Palisades ended with her literally left hanging over a cliff and seemingly about to fall. A history of the cliffhanger and important stages of serial narration was written by Vincent Fröhlich in German. Cliffhanger commercials have become a thing. A commercial with a discernable plot and attempt at creating curiosity and then guiding the viewer to the website of the company (or an associated company). A diamond commercial from 2005 is the earliest use of this technique. 〔http://articles.philly.com/2005-12-17/entertainment/25421834_1_tv-commercials-diamonds-cliffhanger〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「cliffhanger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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