Understanding Mood
Definition of Mood:
Mood - the feeling created by a literary work or passage; the atmosphere of a
story or written work
For example, an author might write: “It was a fearsome night, dark and
stormy with mighty gouts of wind scouring the fields.”
The words, fearsome night, dark and stormy, and scouring help the reader
feel scared or fearful.
You practiced this already on your pretest when you were asked the following
question:
Dust of Snow
by Robert Frost
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Questions
1. The mood of this poem is best described as moving from _____________to
_________:
a. infuriated to giddy
b. painful to hyper
c. pessimistic to optimistic
d. violent to tense
2. What evidence from this piece helps you determine the mood of the piece?
In the poem, “Dust of Snow,” by Robert Frost, the mood moves from
pessimistic to optimistic. The evidence that proves the poem’s mood
is found in the crow shaking snow on the speaker in the beginning of
the poem, which is negative, or pessimistic; but the speaker’s mood
is changed to a more optimistic outlook by the end of the poem as
shown in the use of the phrase “change of mood” and “saved some
part.”
Definition of Tone:
Tone – writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter revealed
through diction, figurative language, and organization of the
sentences.
For example, if you read a sentence like the following: People who,
acting like pawns, blindly follow government laws and government
officials are surely doomed to lead a prison-like life, wasting away in
the drudgery of duty, we know the author is using an indignant tone
because of the words and phrases in bold.
You practiced this already on your pretest when you were asked the following
question:
Directions: Read the short story excerpt below. Then answer the questions that follow.
Circle the best answer for the multiple-choice questions. For short answer questions,
please write your answer in complete sentences, referencing the title of the piece and the
piece’s author.
“The Pond”
The girls were playing in the pond, splashing each other and trying to catch
fish with their hands. They were having fun, but kept looking over their shoulders at
the looming forest. The long grass of the field kept moving and they sort of felt like
they were being watched… About a half hour passed and still the girls kept checking
the field for movements. It seemed like a pair of dark eyes was on them. They even
considered going back inside, but that would mean homework time. So they
continued splashing, but with caution now. Their eyes hardly left the field.
By Shimi Shesh
Questions
3. The tone of this excerpt is best described as:
a. humorous
b. direct
c. ominous
d. detached
4. What evidence from this piece helps you determine the tone of the piece?
In the narrative, “The Pond,” by Shimi Shesh, the tone is ominous.
The author uses phases like, “looking over their shoulders,” and
“being watched.” Such phases certainly prove how the author felt
ominous or threatened by the situation. Furthermore, the piece
includes words and phrases like, “looming forest,” “dark eyes,” and
“caution.” By using such words, the Shimi Shesh continues to
emphasize the ominous tone of the piece because words like,
looming, dark, and caution all carry a negative connotation.
Such examples are only a few of the many examples that exist to
demonstrate mood and tone. Also, don’t forget the examples we
viewed through watching the recut movie trailers. The editors of these
trailers are like authors, and the clips, music, effects, and narration
that the editor selected all help express his or her attitude towards the
subject, while the same choices affected the reader to create a mood.
In the movie trailers:
1. images and color tone = word choice and phrasing and details
included in books
2. music = sentence fluency and rhythm in writing
3. heavy drums, fast-paced music, and attention-grabbing action =
short punchy sentences that create tension and suspense in a
book
mood = emotional effect that
the text creates for the audience
POSITIVE 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
NEGATIVE MOOD WORDS
aggravated
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
tone = speaker’s attitude
POSITIVE TONE WORDS
admiring
adoring
affectionate
appreciative
approving
bemused
benevolent
blithe
calm
casual
celebratory
cheerful
comforting
comic
compassionate
complimentary
conciliatory
confident
contented
delightful
earnest
ebullient
ecstatic
effusive
elated
empathetic
encouraging
euphoric
excited
exhilarated
expectant
facetious
fervent
flippant
forthright
friendly
funny
gleeful
gushy
happy
hilarious
hopeful
humorous
interested
introspective
jovial
joyful
laudatory
light
lively
mirthful
modest
nostalgic
optimistic
passionate
placid
playful
poignant
proud
reassuring
reflective
relaxed
respectful
reverent
romantic
sanguine
scholarly
self-assured
sentimental
serene
silly
sprightly
straightforward
sympathetic
tender
tranquil
whimsical
wistful
worshipful
zealous
NEUTRAL
(+, -, or
neutral)
commanding
direct
impartial
indirect
meditative
objective
questioning
speculative
unambiguous
unconcerned
understated
NEGATIVE TONE
WORDS
abhorring
acerbic
ambiguous
ambivalent
angry
annoyed
antagonistic
anxious
apathetic
apprehensive
belligerent
bewildered
biting
bitter
blunt
bossy
cold
conceited
condescending
confused
contemptuous
curt
cynical
demanding
depressed
derisive
derogatory
desolate
despairing
desperate
detached
diabolic
disappointed
disliking
disrespectful
doubtful
embarrassed
enraged
evasive
fatalistic
hostile
impatient
incredulous
indifferent
indignant
inflammatory
insecure
insolent
irreverent
lethargic
melancholy
mischievous
miserable
mocking
mournful
nervous
ominous
outraged
paranoid
pathetic
patronizing
pedantic
pensive
pessimistic
pretentious
psychotic
resigned
reticent
sarcastic
sardonic
scornful
self-deprecating
selfish
serious
severe
sinister
skeptical
sly
solemn
somber
fearful
forceful
foreboding
frantic
frightened
frustrated
furious
gloomy
grave
greedy
grim
harsh
haughty
holier-than-thou
hopeless
stern
stolid
stressful
strident
suspicious
tense
threatening
tragic
uncertain
uneasy
unfriendly
unsympathetic
upset
violent
wry
Important Terms:
Tone Words:
Mood Words:
Tone in literature tells us how the
author thinks about his or her
subject. The author's style
conveys the tone in literature.
Tone is the author's attitude
toward story and readers.
Mood is the effect of the writer's
words on the reader. Mood is
how the writer’s words make us
feel.