The apartment house had a communal attic rarely visited by its tenants. the labeled boxes and cast-off furniture offered little intrigue, so few explored its depths. then one rainy afternoon, i ventured there seeking solitude. roaming beyond the beams of the lone ceiling bulb, i spied only cobwebs until i rounded the corner of a hulking armoire. beyond this antique was unrelenting shadow, but i willed myself to advance. then a grim bellow of thunder resounded, sending me to the floor. prostrate on the splintered beams, my hands felt a shaft of cold steel and i could but imagine the evil article i’d encountered.
what technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?
a the word choice darkens the tone.
b odd characters are introduced.
c the setting details are intentionally omitted.
d the outcome of events becomes uncertain.

Match each excerpt to the correct stanza structure. 1. it was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know by the name of annabel lee; and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me. (from "annabel lee" by edgar allan poe) 2. o thou, new-year, delaying long, delayest the sorrow in my blood, that longs to burst a frozen bud and flood a fresher throat with song. (from "in memoriam" by alfred lord tennyson) 3. nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. her early leaf’s a flower but only so an hour. then leaf subsides to leaf. so eden sank to grief,; so dawn goes down to day. nothing gold can stay. (from "nothing gold can stay" by robert frost) 4. at sestos hero dwelt; hero the fair, whom young apollo courted for her hair, and offered as a dower his burning throne, where she should sit for men to gaze upon. the outside of her garments were of lawn, the lining purple silk, with gilt stars drawn; (from "hero and leander" by christopher marlowe) quatrain couplet octave sestet