Tone
Definition
Tone refers to the author's attitude towards a subject or audience conveyed through word choice, imagery, syntax, and other literary devices. It sets the overall mood of a piece of writing.
Analogy
Think of tone as someone's voice when they speak to you. Just like people can sound happy, sad, sarcastic, or serious when they talk to you, authors use tone to convey their emotions and intentions through their writing.
Related terms
Mood: The emotional atmosphere created by a literary work.
Diction: The specific word choice an author uses to convey meaning.
Irony: A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.
"Tone" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (5)
AP English Literature - 4.5 Narrative distance, tone, and perspective
AP English Literature - 5.2 Use of techniques like imagery and hyperbole
AP English Literature - 6.4 The effect of narrative tone and bias on reading
AP English Literature - 7.5 The significance of the pacing of a narrative
AP English Literature - 9.2 Suspense, resolution, and plot development
Additional resources (6)
AP English Literature - Multiple Choice Questions (Poetry I)
AP English Literature - MC Answers and Review (Poetry I)
AP English Literature - Short Fiction Overview
AP English Literature - 2.3 Analyzing word choice to find meaning
AP English Literature - Unit 2 Overview: Introduction to Poetry
AP English Literature - Unit 4 Overview: Character, Conflict, and Storytelling
Practice Questions (15)
- What is tone in literature?
- How does tone contribute to a story?
- What is the primary role of tone in shaping the reader's experience of a story?
- How does tone interact with narrative distance and perspective in a story?
- What impact can words with multiple meanings have on the tone of a poem?
- What does tone refer to in the context of analyzing a poem?
- What is the primary focus when analyzing the grammar, diction, and tone of a poem?
- Which literary element helps establish the author's attitude and tone in a poem?
- What can readers determine by analyzing the tone of a poem?
- What does the tone of a speaker or narrator in a literary work refer to?
- How can readers identify the tone of a speaker or narrator in a literary work?
- What can readers infer about a character's perspective from the tone of their narrative?
- Which element of the narrative can help readers formulate the tone of a literary work?
- How does the pacing of a narrative contribute to the overall mood and tone?
- Why is it important to consider shifts in the tone and mood of the narrative when analyzing pacing?
Resources
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