Beth Hammett. Mood vs. Tone. Includes Activities

Transcription

1 Mood vs. Tone Includes Activities Mood Tone

2 Mood vs. Tone Mood Reader s reaction Tone Author s attitude What is the reader s emotional response to the story? What is the author s attitude about the subject matter? Example words: happy, sad, peaceful Example words: ironic, mocking, outraged

3 Mood vs. Tone Examples Mood Reader s reaction The park welcomed children. Laughter filled the air, and smiles were contagious. It was enjoyable! How does this make you, the reader, feel? Tone Author s attitude The park welcomed children. But, like most areas overrun with kids, it was loud and noisy. Plus, there was no place to sit. What does the author think about children?

4 Mood Mood is the emotional-intellectual attitude of the author toward the subject. W. Harmon and H. Holman A Handbook to Literature, 2006 Mood is the emotion(s) the reader feels in response to the story. Think: Does the story: move the reader? evoke feelings? elicit a response?

5 Mood Readers reaction: the feeling the reader gets from the story through the author s writing Example: Not everyone in our family liked Aunt Emma, who was seventyyears-old and smelled of rotten fish. However, when Todd, my cousin, threw spitballs at her, I punched him in the stomach. Note: Mood, the reader s reaction, is different than Tone, which is the author s attitude toward the subject.

6 Working with Mood Directions: In small groups or individually, choose one or more words from each of the negative and positive lists. Use magazines, newspapers, poems, songs, texts to find one example for the words chosen. Highlight words that give clues as to the mood of the piece. Positive Mood Words Negative Mood Words amused calm grateful hopeful joyous loving nostalgic optimistic peaceful sympathetic vivacious welcoming aggravated confused disappointed embarrassed jealous lonely pessimistic scared tense uncomfortable vengeful worried

7 Tone "Tone is unavoidable. You imply it in the words you select and in how you arrange them." Thomas S. Kane The New Oxford Guide to Writing Oxford Univ. Press, 1988 Tone is the author s attitude toward the subject. Think: DIDLS: diction, imagery, details, language and sentence structure/syntax

8 Tone Author s attitude toward the subject. is determined by author s word choice(s) gives life to literature gives voice and depth to the characters readers learn about a character's personality and disposition. shapes the work as a whole helps determine if the story is as serious, funny, dramatic or disturbing

9 Tone Author s attitude toward the subject: Example: The dog s pink tongue resembled cotton candy. He licked my hand then panted as if to say, Let s be buddies! There is a good reason why a dog is a man s best friend. Note: Tone, author s attitude toward the subject is different than Mood, which is the reader s emotional reaction to story.

10 Working with Tone Directions: In small groups or individually, choose one or more words from each of the negative and positive lists. Use magazines, newspapers, poems, songs, texts to find one example for the words chosen. Highlight words that give clues as to the tone of the piece. Positive Tone Words admiring calm delightful happy joyful lively modest proud romantic serene wistful zealous Negative Tone Words annoyed bossy conceited demanding enraged insecure miserable pathetic sarcastic tense unfriendly wry

11 Working with Mood and Tone Activity Life Early days, late nights equal workmen s plights. Sunup to sundown in the boomtown. Punch the clock tick-tock. Rise and shine days aren t mine. Young and old dream of gold. 1. What is the mood of the poem? Use text evidence to prove your answer. 2. What is the tone of the poem? Use text evidence to prove your answer.

12 Working with Mood and Tone Activity It really doesn t matter, said Laura. No? John looked at her. His face contorted with pain. No, Laura said. It doesn t matter to me who you are. You don t care if I m a convict? If I m a murderer? 1. What is the mood of the passage? Use text evidence to prove your answer. 2. What is the tone of the passage? Use text evidence to prove your answer. No. I love you! said Laura.