Tone & Mood

Mood – consider music as one way to convey mood, non- verbally Tone  Yes I have homework.  I think I have homework  I guess I have homework  Obviously, I have homework

What is Tone?  Tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject, the characters or the readers, which is revealed by the author’s diction/word choice.

Activity 1 Explain the difference between the following sets of words:  Silly/Giddy -silliness implies an element of childish behavior whereas giddiness implies happiness. You can be giddy without being silly.  Angry/outraged -  Nervous/anxious-

Tone Words AngrySadSentimental SharpColdFanciful UpsetUrgentComplimentary SillyJokingCondescending BoringPoignantSympathetic AfraidDetachedContemptuous HappyConfusedApologetic HollowChildishHumourous JoyfulPeacefulHorrific AllusiveMockingSarcastic SweetObjectiveNostalgic VexedVibrantZealous TiredFrivolousIrreverent BitterAudaciousBenevolent DreamyShockingSeductive RestrainedSomberCandid ProudGiddyPitiful DramaticProvocativeDidactic

What is Mood ?  Mood is the feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader. It is the atmosphere created by the author. Some literature makes us feel happy, sad, angry, etc  Mood is often created by setting.  / /

Mood Words CalmCheerfulChillingComical DepressingDismalEerieFanciful GloomyGrimGrotesqueHeart-breaking HolyHopefulHorrificIntense LightLightheartedMelancholicMorbid MysteriousOminousOptimisticPessimistic RomanticSadSinisterSoothing SpiritualSpookyTerrifyingThreatening

Read and determine the author’s tone. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy castle on the hill. I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid lake that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling…[with] vacant and eye- like windows.

Explanation of Tone  Tone – fearful; gloomy  Evidence:  passing alone  singularly dreary tract  clouds hung oppressively  precipitous brink of a black and lurid lake  vacant and eye-like windows

Read and determine the mood. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy castle on the hill. I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid lake that lay in unruffled luster by the dwelling…[with] vacant and eye-like windows.

Explanation of Mood  The setting is at a house that is described as melancholy.  the day is “dull, dark, and soundless”.  The depressing diction here creates a feeling of sadness.  Additionally, the story is set in autumn, a time of year when the leaves are “dying” and the summer is “dying”.  Mood: sorrowful