Omission & Flow
Aposiopesis
Breaking off a sentence before completing it. The interruption leaves the reader to infer what the speaker cannot or will not say.
"I will have such revenges on you both, / That all the world shall— I will do such things—" — King Lear
Don't confuse it with Ellipsis. Ellipsis omits words the reader can reconstruct; aposiopesis abandons the sentence at a cliff edge.
Examples
If you touch that letter again, I will—
The threat breaks off before the speaker completes the main clause.
I could tell you what happened, but—
The speaker abandons the sentence after “but,” leaving the continuation unsaid.
And one fine morning—
The imagined future breaks off after the time phrase, leaving its promise unfinished.
Often used alongside this device
Explore devices that often appear in the same passages as aposiopesis.