Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers'
I can consider how Tolkien uses onomatopoeia, sentence fragments and short sentences to craft an effective cliffhanger.
Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers'
I can consider how Tolkien uses onomatopoeia, sentence fragments and short sentences to craft an effective cliffhanger.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- A writer might use a cliffhanger to create tension or subvert the reader's expectations around resolutions.
- Tolkien uses sentence fragments and simple sentences to create an abrupt tone.
- Furthermore, Tolkien uses onomatopoeia and plosive sounds to add to the tension.
- By ending on the provocative word "Enemy", Tolkien leaves the reader with a heightened sense of unease.
Keywords
Cliffhanger - a plot device in which an element of a story is left unresolved
Tension - mental or emotional strain
Unresolved - not settled, solved or brought to resolution
Provocative - likely to arouse a strong reaction
Abrupt - sudden and unexpected
Common misconception
That cliffhangers are only designed to make the reader carry on reading.
Cliffhangers can entice the reader to continue reading, but they can also create tension and subvert the reader's expectations.
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 english lessons from the Fiction: ending stories unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2022 HarperCollins Publishers edition of 'The Two Towers' by J. R. R. Tolkien for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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