How Does Shakespeare Create Suspense In The Lady Or The Tiger

Throughout the short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton, tension and suspense are created by making the audience wonder what is behind the door. There is a kingdom in which the king always gets his way. He decide to create a semi-barbaric, yet civilized form of a justice system, where any person accused of a crime will be given the choice of two doors. One has a tiger that will viciously maul and murder the person, “proving” their guilt. One has a maiden behind it, and the accused is immediately married to this lady, no matter the circumstance. The king’s daughter has a lover, but the king finds out about it, and sends the lover to his trial. The princess knows which door leads to the tiger and which leads to the lady, and indicates which choice the lover should choose (the right door, which he chooses). The author keeps the audience in suspense by discussing, at length, the gravity of the princess’ decision, and the
How often in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth, torn her hair, when she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the lady!” The author shows that the princess is torn by the decision, and has many conflicting opinions on the matter. On the one hand, she would hate to see her lover die, but on the other, it may be worse for him to be seen happy with another. This creates tension because it leaves the reader with little to no clues about which door she will choose. Furthermore, the author does not answer the question of which door the princess will open at all, instead ending with, “The question is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to set myself up as the one person able to answer it.” This creates suspense because the reader has no certain answer as to which door the princess chose. The short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” creates tension and suspense by leaving the audience wondering about which door the princess