Mood in Literature: Definition and Examples
by Kaelyn Barron |
It’s pretty easy to tell when you’re in a good mood, bad mood, need-more-food mood…
but even your favorite stories have moods, too, and they impact how you feel while
reading.
What was the last story to make you cry? Laugh? Feel nostalgic, optimistic, or
frightened? You can thank the story’s mood in large part for evoking those feelings for
you.
Definition of Mood in Writing
In literature, mood is a device that evokes certain feelings for readers through a work’s
setting, tone, theme, and diction. It’s also referred to as the “atmosphere” of a piece.
Have you ever read a story that sent chills down your spine, or just felt eerie?
Take Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, for example. As the narrator slowly
approaches a compound bordered by human heads on stakes, it’s safe to say that the
atmosphere created is similar to that of a horror film. (If you haven’t read the book, just
watch Apocalypse Now to see what I mean).
In scenes like these, the author uses tone and diction to establish the creepy setting
makes me, the reader, sense the eerie mood.
Identifying Mood
Every piece of writing has a mood, whether it’s a 500-page novel or a short
poem. One of the best ways to determine the mood of a piece is to ask yourself how it
makes you feel as you read it.
What images or feelings come to mind? Do you feel frightened, hopeful,
reflective? Most words that can be used to describe emotions can also be used to
describe the mood of a story.
There can be several moods present within one piece of writing, since different
scenes might contain different moods. However, it’s usually easy to identify a
predominant mood that is present in most of the story.
Mood vs. Tone
Tone reflects the speaker’s feelings or attitude toward the subject, whereas mood is the
feeling experienced by the reader.
Tone is important when it comes to creating mood. The attitude of the speaker will
likely influence the way they tell the story, which in turn influences how readers feel
while reading it.
Diction (an author’s word choice) can also help to create the mood and atmosphere in a
piece of literature. Every word carries a positive, negative, or neutral connotation, so
authors must choose their words carefully to create their intended atmosphere.
Why is Mood Important?
Because mood evokes emotional responses in readers, it helps to establish an
emotional connection between a piece of literature and its audience. Once readers feel
emotionally impacted by a piece, they will be better able to understand the central
message, or theme, of the work.
30 Words to Describe Mood
Below are 30 examples of words that might be used to describe mood in literature. As
you will notice, most words that describe emotions or feelings can also be used to
describe mood.
.
Mood Adjectives
Anxious
Calm
Cheerful
Depressing
Eerie
Festive
Foreboding
Frightening
Frustrated
Hopeless
Humorous
Idyllic
Joyful
Light-hearted
Lonely
Melancholic
Ominous
Optimistic
Panicked
Peaceful
Pensive
Pessimistic
Reflective
Restless
Romantic
Sad
Sentimental
Stressed
Tense
Uneasy
Examples of Mood in Literature
The following are prime examples of how skilled writers can convey mood.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Now I had suddenly a nearer view, and its first result was to make me throw my head back as if
before a blow…I went carefully from post to post with my glass… These round knobs were not
ornamental… they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing—food for thought and
also for vultures…They would have been even more impressive, those heads on the stakes, if
their faces had not been turned to the house. Only one, the first I had made out, was facing my
way.
Notice how Conrad builds suspense by not immediately revealing what these “round
knobs” are, instead stating that they were “not ornamental… expressive and puzzling,
striking and disturbing.” This heightens the eerie, horrific mood for readers.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
“Do you know, I always thought unicorns were fabulous monsters, too? I never saw one alive
before!”
“Well, now that we have seen each other,” said the unicorn, “if you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in
you.”
In Alice’s Adventures inWonderland, Lewis Carroll uses fantastical imagery and curious
settings to create a whimsical mood. Things like unicorns and hookah-smoking
caterpillars are presented as if nothing is out of the ordinary, which helps to establish this
dreamlike feeling.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It
simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I’ve said before, bugs
in amber.
Slaughterhouse-Five offers a great example of the difference between tone and mood.
Throughout the novel, the author maintains a mostly deadpan, unemotional tone.
Interestingly, this detached treatment of the atrocities of war is precisely what makes the
mood melancholic and emotional for readers.
Mood in Literature
All good literature makes us feel something, whether it inspires us, makes us cry, or
reminds us of another time. These feelings bring us together and make us feel
connected with the story. They remind us that we’re not alone in our feelings.
Through tone, diction, imagery, and theme, writers can create a specific mood and use
their artistic skills to make us feel any of a wide array of emotions.