1. Setting, Tone, Mood and Symbolism

2. Setting
The setting of a literary work is the time and place of the action
Time can include a historical period – past, present, future
Time also includes a specific year, season or time of day
Place may include geographical region – country, state, town
Place can also include social, cultural or economic environment

3. What is the Setting of the following Passage?
It was a cold November night in the small town of Argyle. The wind howled through the bare, skeletal branches of the trees. Dry, brittle leaves tumbled in the quiet night. The time was 10:47 P.M. and the movie had just ended. Jittering, gossiping teenagers began to file out of the theater and onto the desolate main street. The old, lone tree on the corner of Main and Cherry streets hid a demon lurking in the night…

4. Tone
The tone of a literary work is the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject
Tone can be described in a single adjective – serious, bitter, ironic, pessimistic
Tone can usually describe the overall feeling of a piece

5. Mood Also known as “atmosphere”
Mood is the feeling created in a reader by a literary work or passage
Mood can change from chapter to chapter and scene to scene

6. For Example
What is the Mood of the following passage?
What is the Tone?
"Charlie surveyed the classroom of idiots, congratulating himself for achieving the higher test grade, the smug smirk on his face growing brighter and brighter as he confirmed the inferiority of his peers."
The character Charlie's MOOD is: gleeful superiority
The author's TONE is: exaggerated, somewhat cynical

7. Symbolism
A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else
An object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but it also represents abstract ideas
Look at the following images and think about what they symbolize

13. So What???
Authors use setting, tone, mood and symbolism to add meaning and depth to their work
These literary elements allow for creativity, individual interpretation and increased interest

14. Homework As a class, read the introductory material on page 444
On Your Own - Read Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Read Death” starting on page 446
On your own paper answer the questions in the margins as you read. After you finish the story answer questions and 6-8 on page 453.
For Wednesday – Write a 3-4 paragraph essay explaining Poe’s use of setting, tone, mood and symbolism. Use 3-4 pieces of evidence/direct quotes from the text. These essays can be hand written or typed; either way they need to be polished and revised. Use the MEAL paragraph as your guide.