Tone, Mood, & Voice

What is tone? Tone is the way an author expresses his or her attitude through writing. The author controls tone in a story. Tone can change quickly throughout the story or remain the same. Descriptive adjectives and adverbs along with dialog between characters are used to help the writer express tone. The tone of a story can be happy, joyful, scary, sad, angry, threatening, humorous, etc.

What is mood? Mood is how the reader responds, on an emotional level, to what they read. The reader controls a story’s mood. Mood refers to the general emotions experienced by the characters and transmitted to the readers. The mood of a literary selection refers to the “mood” it puts the reader in when he/she reads the selection. Funny stories usually produce happiness, and sad stories often create sadness.

What is voice? Voice is the “energy” of a piece of writing. It’s what makes a story or other piece of writing enjoyable and entertaining to read. Both the writer and the reader control voice in a story. It is what makes readers laugh out loud, smile to themselves, or want to cry. Voice produces a response in readers. Voice is often created through the personalities the writer gives to his/her characters and how the reader perceives the characters.

Identify the Tone The next morning was a midsummer’s morning as fair and fresh as could be dreamed: blue sky and never a cloud, and the sun dancing on the water. Now they rode away amid songs of farewell and good speed, with their hearts ready for more adventure, and with a knowledge of the road they must follow over the Misty Mountains to the land beyond. from The Hobbit, Chapter 3

Identify the Mood The passages there were crossed and tangled in all directions, but the goblins knew their way, as well as you do to the nearest post-office; and the way went down and down, and it was most horribly stuffy. The goblins were very rough, and pinched unmercifully, and chuckled and laughed in their horrible stony voices: and Bilbo was more unhappy even than when the troll had picked him up by his toes. He wished again and again for his nice bright hobbit-hole. from The Hobbit, Chapter 4

What makes this passage have VOICE? “The key! The key!” cried Bilbo. “Where is Thorin?” Thorin hurried up. “The key?” shouted Bilbo. “The key that went with the map! Try it now while there is still time!” Then Thorin stepped up and drew the key on its chain from his neck. He put it to the hole. It fitted and it turned! Snap! The gleam went out, the sun sank, the moon was gone, and evening sprang into the sky. Now they all pushed together, and slowly a part of the rock-wall gave way. from The Hobbit, Chapter 11