This question is based on General Literary Principles. What sustains the interest of a reader in all literature is

Analyze the question The question asks what sustains a reader's interest throughout a literary work. Note the key word "sustains", which means keeps the reader engaged from start to finish, and "in all literature", which covers prose, drama and poetry.

Explain the concepts

• Ambiguity: double or unclear meaning. It adds depth, but it can confuse readers and is not what keeps them reading.
• Characterization: how an author creates and develops characters. It matters mostly in prose and drama, and many poems have no real characters.
• Suspense: the tension, uncertainty or anticipation about what will happen next. It makes the reader want to continue, and it appears in novels, plays and even narrative poems.
• Plot: the arrangement of events in a story. It is the structure, but a plot only holds interest when it creates curiosity and tension.

Solution

1. Interest is sustained when the reader keeps wanting to know what happens next.
2. That desire comes from uncertainty and anticipation, which is suspense.
3. Plot is the framework, and suspense is the quality that makes the plot gripping. Characterization and ambiguity are not present in the same way in every genre. 4.

Answer: C. suspense

Exam tip In JAMB Literature, when you see "sustains interest" or "keeps the reader reading", think suspense. When you see "arrangement of events", think plot. When you see "creation of persons in a story", think characterization.