Tone/Mood

Practice: How good are you at recognizing tone?

Angry
Flirty

Scared Annoyed
Joyful

Sad
Ironic/Sarcastic
Intro to Tone and Mood
 TONE
is the author’s attitude toward the
writing/topic (his characters, the situation)
and the readers.

Author
 To Find Tone, Look at --
• How characters say something or how they do
something

• Word choice /descriptions used by the author

Ask yourself how does the author feel about the

characters and topic they are writing about?
WORDS THAT DESCRIBE TONE
Positive Neutral Negative
Admiring Indifferent Angry
Cheerful Persistent Dark
Clear Matter-of-fact Mocking
Playful Informal Paranoid
Light Nostalgic Arrogant
Optimistic Objective Pessimistic
Hopeful Frank Mocking
Sincere Formal Morbid
Approving Serious Sinister
Flirty Determined Resentful
Conifident Suspicious Paranoid
Witty Ironic Anxious
Joyful Vague Suspicious
“Gaining the attention of his classmates as well
as his arrogant professor, the brave student
courageously questioned his professor’s
intelligence by challenging him about the
difficult textbook.”

The author is expressing an admiring or impressed

tone seen through the descriptions of the professor and the student.
The author is positive when describing the student and negative about
the professor, so it’s clear whose side they are on.
“Drawing the attention of his classmates, as well
as his well-respected professor, the demanding
student dared to experiment with his professor’s
intelligence by interrogating him about the
widely-used textbook.

The author is now expressing a disapproving or critical tone seen

through the descriptions of the professor and the student. Now the
author thinks negatively of the student and favors the professor.
 MOOD
the reader's overall feeling created by the setting,
plot, words, and images of the story.

Reader
 To Find Mood, Look at --
• The beginning and end of the story

• Description of settings

• Imagery (five senses)

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE MOOD
Positive Honest Tense
Light-hearted Factual Gloom
Tender Relaxed Painful
Warm Evenhanded Melancholy
Peaceful Informative Threatening
Content Conversational Lonely
Welcoming Neutral Foreboding
Freeing   Suspenseful
Whimisical   Cold
Patriotic   Haunting
Romantic   Sorrowful
Sentimental  
 
 
During the holidays, my mother’s house glittered
with decorations and hummed with preparations.
We ate cookies and drank cider while we helped
her wrap bright packages and trim the tree. We
felt cozy and excited, listening to Christmas
carols and even singing along sometimes. We
would tease each other about our terrible voices
and then sing even louder.

The mood is warm and tender. The reader can feel

the atmosphere of a happy environment.
 • After New Year’s the time came to put all the
decorations away and settle in for the long, cold
winter. The house seemed to sigh as we boxed up its
finery. The tree was dry and brittle, and now waited
lonely, by the side of the road to be picked up.

The mood is gloomy and sorrowful. The reader can feel

the atmosphere of a sad environment.
What’s the mood and tone of this song?
One Way or Another
I will drive past (by) your house
And if the lights are all down
I'll see who's around
Let’s go
one way or another
I'm gonna find ya
I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha
One way or another I'm gonna win ya
I'll getcha, I'll getcha

One way or another I'm gonna see ya

I'm gonna metcha metcha metcha metcha
One day, maybe next week
I'm gonna metcha, I'll metcha
What’s the mood and tone of this song?
One Way or Another

I will drive past (by) your house

And if the lights are all down
I'll see who's around
one way or another
I'm gonna find ya
I'm gonna getcha
One way or another I'm gonna win you
I'm getcha, getcha

One way or another I'm gonna see you

Gonna meet you meet you
One day, maybe next week
I'm gonna metcha, I'll metcha
What’s the mood and tone of this song?
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
I come home in the morning light
My mother says when you gonna live your life right
Oh, mommy dear, we're not the fortunate ones
And girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun

Thats all they really want, some fun

When the working day is done
Oh girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun

Girls, they wanna, they wanna have fun

Girls, wanna have

They just wanna

They just wanna (girls)
They just wanna (girls, they wanna have fun)
They just wanna
 Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I came home in the middle of the night

My father says, “What’cha you going to do with your life?"
Well, daddy dear, you're still number one
Oh, girls, they want to have fun
Oh, girls, they...

That's all they really want

Those girls, they want to have fun
 Sp a c e
Blank oh no
Screaming, crying, perfect storms
I can make all the tables turn
Rose gardens filled with thorns
Keep you second guessing like
"Oh my God, who is she?"
I get drunk on jealousy
But you'll come back each time you
leave
'Cause darling I'm a nightmare
dressed like a daydream
 Sp a c e
Blank
oh no
Screaming, crying, perfect storms
I can make all the tables turn
Rose gardens filled with thorns
Keep you second guessing like
"Oh my God, who is he?
who is he?"
I get drunk on jealousy
But you'll come back each time you
leave
'Cause darling I'm a nightmare
dressed like a daydream
• Frozen Trailer 1

• Frozen Trailer 2
• TONE AND MOOD DO NOT ALWAYS MATCH
 What’s the Tone/Mood?
How are they different?

Johnny had a rough day at work; he needed to make

himself feel better. He left early, bought a chocolate cake,
visited his mother, went home and kicked his dog down
the stairs.
• Johnny had a rough day at work; he needed to make
himself feel better. He left early, bought a chocolate
cake, visited his mother, went home and kicked his
dog down the stairs.

TONE: matter-of-fact, objective, detached

Johnny had a rough day at work; he needed to make
himself feel better. He left early, bought a chocolate
cake, visited his mother, went home and
kicked his dog down the stairs.

MOOD: Horrific, Shocking

 What’s the Tone/Mood?
How are they different?
He approached the task with sheer determination. He
had studied his plans carefully, spent hours preparing
and was sure of his approach. The hours he spent
practicing were grueling and exhausting but he was ready.
This was the year he would win the pie eating
contest at school.
TONE: serious, determined, formal, focused

He approached the task with sheer determination.

He had studied his plans carefully, spent hours preparing
and was sure of his approach. The hours he spent practicing
were grueling and exhausting but he was ready. This was
the year he would win the pie eating contest at school.
 MOOD: playful, informal, silly, comical

He approached the task with sheer determination. He had

studied his plans carefully, spent hours preparing and was
sure of his approach. The hours he spent practicing were
grueling and exhausting but he was ready. This was the year
he would win the pie eating contest at school.