MOOD & TONE

What is mood? Just like people have a variety of moods and feelings, literature does as well. Just like people have a variety of moods and feelings, literature does as well. MOOD- is the feeling or emotion the writer creates in a literary work. MOOD- is the feeling or emotion the writer creates in a literary work.

By working carefully with descriptive language, the writer can evoke in the reader a variety of emotional responses.

Some emotional responses, or moods created might include…

Horrified

Sad/Depressed

Humorous/Funny

Yearning/Wanting

Discomfort/Uneasiness/ Tense

Fear

Anticipation

TONE Tone and Mood go hand-in-hand. Tone and Mood go hand-in-hand. TONE is the speaker’s/writer’s attitude toward the subject matter and/or story. TONE is the speaker’s/writer’s attitude toward the subject matter and/or story. The speaker’s tone will create the mood through selective and careful word choice, sentence structure and voice. The speaker’s tone will create the mood through selective and careful word choice, sentence structure and voice.

Examples: It was Monday again. It was Monday and the day was damp and cold. Rain splattered the cover of Algebra I as Laura heaved her books higher on her arm and sighed. School was such a bore. School. It loomed before her now, massive and dark against the sky. In a few minutes, she would have to face them again—Diane Goodard with her sleek blond hair and Terri Pierce in her candy-pink sweater. And Carol and Steve and Bill and Nancy….There were so many of them, so exclusive as they stood in their tight little groups laughing and joking.

What is the tone/mood?

EXAMPLES: It was a warm, humid night, the last hot breath of the summer that had been. When Eve stepped onto the patio, she felt almost suffocated by the fragrance that filled the air, the thick, clotted scent of decaying vegetation. The limp leaves on the trees were edged with brown. A heavy dew clung to the plants and shrubbery and weighed them down. Rotting mushrooms glowed faintly and seemed to pulse. A waning moon slipped in and out behind streaks of clouds. In the pool floated a dead goldfish. Its white belly was turned up, a mirror image to the moon in the sky.

What is the tone/mood?

HOW BIRDS SHOULD DIE Not like hailstones Ricocheting off concrete Nor vaporized through jets nor drubbed against windshields not in flocks plunged down into cold sea by sudden weather no please no but Like stricken cherubim Spreading on winds their tiny engines Suddenly taken out By small pains They sigh and float down on Sunlit updrafts Drifting through treetops To tumble gently Onto the moss PPPP oooo eeee mmmm

How Birds Should Die Does the mood/tone change at all within the poem? Does the mood/tone change at all within the poem? If so, at what point does it change? If so, at what point does it change? What is the tone/mood at the beginning? The end? What is the tone/mood at the beginning? The end? Identify specific words throughout the poem that helps to create the mood. Identify specific words throughout the poem that helps to create the mood.

“The Ground Is Always Damp” What is Leona feeling throughout the story? What is Leona feeling throughout the story? What is the overall mood of this story? What is the overall mood of this story?

There is a strong contrast between Leona’s old home in New Mexico to her new home. There is a strong contrast between Leona’s old home in New Mexico to her new home. What words does the writer use to create the tone & mood in describing each place? What words does the writer use to create the tone & mood in describing each place?

New Mexico (home) Clear & empty sky Clear & empty sky Deep blue-Turquoise Deep blue-Turquoise Mountains Mountains Clean air Clean air Clear horizon line Clear horizon line Bright Bright

New Residence Cloudy (often) Cloudy (often) Damp ground Damp ground Gray Gray Thick air Thick air Frost Frost Windy Windy Cold Cold No Mountains No Mountains Rains (often/constant) Rains (often/constant) Pours steadily Pours steadily Brown streams form Brown streams form