Intention, Style,Tone and Mood
Tone
Source: http://literarydevices.net/theme/
What is Tone?
“In literature, tone is the attitude or approach that the author takes toward the work’s central theme or subject.” Source: http://www.literarydevices.com/tone/
Tone is present in all works of literature. Elements such as syntax, diction, imagery, details, and figurative language are used by authors in order to create tone. Words are the tools of the author to convey emotions and feelings. The choice of these words is what creates the tone the author wishes to express towards the main subject of the text.
Literary works can have more than one tone. There may be a shift if tone throughout a work as the narrator’s viewpoint changes, or as the plot becomes more complex. There might also be more than one tone that an author considers towards a text simultaneously. A novel can be, for example, both dark and humourous, or both formal and sentimental.
The difference between tone and mood
Students are sometimes confused between the tone and mood. The definition of tone is the author’s attitude towards the work, whilst the mood consists of the feelings produced by the work in the audience or reader. Setting, theme, and voice may be used by an author in the creation of a particular mood. In movies, directors are able to add the use of music (sound track), editing, and images to help create mood. Think of the music accompanying horror movies which almost always include music which creates suspense and anxiety.
Intention
Style
The way in which a story is told.
An important point here is he writer’s use of language:
Is it conversational?
Is it emotionally disconnected?
Is it plain or verbose?
Diction (choice of words) is important
In literature, style is made up of many literary devices which are used by an author to create a clear-cut feeling for a piece of work. These devices include, amongst others, point of view, symbolism, tone, imagery, diction, voice, syntax, and the method of narration. Certain types of writing are required to have a certain style, such as academic or journalistic writing – your transactional wrting pieces are all required to have a particular style; however, each piece of creative writing has its individual style.
Common Examples of Style
Orators often have a unique style of speaking. Martin Luther King Junior’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, was written beforehand; however, the most famous part of the speech was the repetition of “I have a dream”. This was not part of the original planning but was instead Martin Luther King Jr. speaking impromptu in a style that was similar to that of a preacher. Some more extracts of famous speeches with distinctive styles are:
• “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”—Winston Churchill
• “I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.”—Wiliam Faulkner
“I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”—Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: http://www.literarydevices.com/style/
Vocabulary to describe: tone, intention, mood and style
http://valenciacollege.edu/east/academicsuccess/eap/documents/tonewords.pdf
Useful vocabulary to describe STYLE:
archaic aristocratic casual cliched colloquial
concise conversational decorative descriptive detached
dramatic elaborate emotional emotive factual
genteel humorous informative journalistic lurid
lyrical metaphorical objective old-fashioned ornate
playful poetic polite precise rhetorical
scholarly scientific sensational simple sophisticated
technical verbose
Useful vocabulary to describe INTENTION:
to amuse to acclaim to accuse to advertise to advise
to advocate to agitate to announce to apologise to appeal
to applaud to argue to attack to belittle blame
to celebrate to chastise to clarify to command to compliment
to condemn to confirm to convince to criticise to debate
to educate
to encourage to enlighten to excite to excuse to explain
to flatter to frighten to glorify to honour to horrify
to humiliate to incite to inform to inspire to instruct
to justify to mock to notify to offend to persuade
to praise to promote to prove to publicise to rebuke
to report to ridicule to sell to scold to shock
to support to teach to tempt to urge to war
Useful vocabulary to describe mood
Mood
Mood is the atmosphere of a piece of writing; it’s the emotions a selection arouses in a reader.
Some common mood descriptors are:
POSITIVE MOOD WORDS
NEGATIVE MOOD WORDS
amused awed bouncy calm cheerful chipper confident contemplative content determined
dignified dreamy ecstatic empowered energetic enlightened enthralled excited exhilarated
flirty giddy grateful harmonious hopeful hyper idyllic joyous jubilant liberating
light-hearted loving mellow nostalgic optimistic passionate peaceful playful pleased
refreshed rejuvenated relaxed relieved satiated satisfied sentimental silly surprised
sympathetic thankful thoughtful touched trustful vivacious warm welcoming aggravate
annoyed anxious apathetic apprehensive barren brooding cold confining confused
cranky crushed cynical depressed desolate disappointed discontented distressed drained
dreary embarrassed enraged envious exhausted fatalistic foreboding frustrated futile
gloomy grumpy haunting heartbroken hopeless hostile indifferent infuriated insidious
intimidated irate irritated jealous lethargic lonely melancholic merciless moody morose
nauseated nervous nightmarish numb overwhelmed painful pensive pessimistic predatory
rejected restless scared serious sick somber stressed suspenseful tense terrifying threatening
uncomfortable vengeful violent worried
Source: http://ourenglishclass.net/class-notes/writing/the-writing-process/craft/tone-and-mood/
Useful vocabulary to describe diction
1. Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than one syllable in length). The greater the number of polysyllabic words there are, the more difficult the content is.
2. Words can be mainly colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), formal (literary) or old-fashioned.
3. Words can be mainly general or specific.
4. Words can be mainly denotative (containing an exact meaning, e.g., dress) or connotative (containing suggested meaning, e.g., gown)
5. Words can be concrete (specific) or abstract (general or conceptual).
6. Words can euphonious (pleasant sounding, e.g., languid, murmur) or cacophonous (harsh sound, e.g., raucous, croak).
Other words to describe diction:
Artificial, bombastic, colloquial, concrete, connotative, cultured, detached, emotional, esoteric, euphemistic, exact, figurative, formal, grotesque, homespun, idiomatic, insipid, jargon, learned
false
high sounding, pompous, ostentatious vernacular (slang)
actual, specific, particular
alludes to; suggestive
cultivated, refined, finished
cut-off, removed, separated expressive of emotions
understood by a chosen few insincere, affected
verbatim, precise
serving as illustration
academic, conventional
hideous, deformed
folksy, homey, native, rustic Peculiar, vernacular
uninteresting, tame, dull