SANTIAGO COLLEGE
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
‘The Black Cat’ – Edgar Allen Poe: Tone and Mood

Gothic originated in UK in mid-18th century with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of
Otranto.
Usually set in gloomy Gothic castles; dark dungeons, secret passageways, ghosts, suits of
armour, screams, moans, etc.

Poe was born in Boston, MA in 1809. His father deserted the family and his mother died
when he was 3. He was an alcoholic and spent most of his life in poverty. He died aged
40 in the gutter. “I dwelt in a world of moan,” he once said in a poem. Read the story and
see if you think this image of his life is reflected in the tone and mood of the story.

Tone and Mood
When speaking we produce an amazing range of tone. Many other things produce tone
too – places: a church, actions, etc.
Tone carries with it a mood – this describes the feeling / emotion that the tone of a
voice/place/person inspires.
Tone and mood are interactive because both involve feelings. Tone is the manner or
attitude that carries or conveys a feeling. Mood is the feeling itself.
Tone and mood in a story result from an interaction between an author and a reader that
reflects the feelings of both.
There are four aspects of tone and mood:
a)
b)
c)
d)
relationship between tone and mood
changes in tone and mood as the story progresses
how settings and characters influence tone and mood
how author’s choice of words influence tone and mood

Relationship between tone and mood
They are not separate and there is no precise definition of either.
(A) Opening paragraph – what feeling does Poe convey through the story’s narrator? He
seems to be a rational and intelligent man about to expain a series of bizarre events. But
we are still uneasy because of the talk of madness, murder, etc.
Here Poe has imparted a tone – a certain attitude to the story. The feelings we experience
from his writing are the story’s mood.
1.
Pretend that the narrator is speaking to you in person. What can you determine about
his mood as expressed by the tone of his voice and his manner?
a) he feels completely calm because he has the situation under control.
b) he is satisfied with his cleverness and is feeling proud of himself.
c) he is feeling extremely nervous and is trying to mask it with rambling
conversation.*
d) he is filled with remorse because of what he has done to his dear wife.
2.

One sentence, and especially one word within that sentence, describes the narrator’s
real mood. Underline it.
Changing tone and mood
Moods easily change. E.g. wedding – outside laughing and joking; inside serious and
subdued.
(B) Notice how the tone grows from an almost clinical explanation of growing
alcoholism to an expression of horror and revulsion.
The next paragraph – style of writing almost forces us to read faster and louder. The tone
has changed with the narrators deteriorating mood.
3.
The mood in the two paragraphs changes from:
a) affection to hatred.*
b) happiness to sadness.
c) soberness to drunkenness.
d) anger to contentment.
4.
Underline a phrase from the paragraph that conveys a tender mood. Then underline
one that conveys a harsh mood.

Setting, character, tone and mood
Certain settings and certain types of character will produce certain feelings in readers.
E.g.’s the previous stories.
The main character in ‘TBC’ is a convicted murderer waiting to be hanged – suspicious
and curious mood. However, the view of the narrator as a child – warm and sympathetic
(C). But soon becomes a drunken monster.
In Gothic tales, much of the action takes place at night. ‘TBC’ – many night settings (D)
– night, fire and total ruin, create perfect mood for the next day’s discovery of the ghostly
image.
5.
How does Poe make you feel about the main character at this point in the story?
a) you feel sympathetic toward his extreme mental illness.
b) you can understand how an animal can be infuriating at times.
c) you realise that exterme poverty can drive a person to madness.
d) you are frightened and revolted by his madness and cruelty.*
6.
What do you recognise in the setting as being a place in a Gothic tale where you can
typically expect some horrifying event to occur?

Language, tone and mood
Language here is very pompous, elegant, long sentences. This is particularly suited to
creating the proper tone and mood of a Gothic tale. Heavy and ornate – like the medieval
castles.
(E) Poe’s words convey heaviness and depression. He uses much punctuation to drag it
out; exaggeration – “vast weight” of the cat.
Effect of the langauge heightens the emotional impact of the narrator’s tale. Gloomy
tone.
7.
The way Poe describes the shriek from the ‘tomb’ makes the tone of the paragraph
terrifying and also
a. mystifying.
b. childlike.
c. unearthly.*
d. reverberating.
8.
Underline as many words and phrases as you can find that make the passage seem
like a nightmare.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Discussing tone and mood:
1.
Here is a passage from ‘The Black Cat’ as Poe wrote it, followed by a simplified
version. Why does Poe’s version have a tone that creates a mood, while the
translation is flat – without any tone or mood?
One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts
about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. I seized upon
him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon
my hand with his teeth. The fury of a demon instantly possessed me.
One night, when I came home drunk from my favourite bar, I thought
the cat was avoiding me. I grabbed him, and because he was frightened
he bit me. I became insanely angry.
2.
Poe changes the tone and mood of the story from time to time. Sometimes it is mild
and reasonable. Other times it is morbid and gloomy, or mad an violent. In some
horror stories there are even moments of humour. What would be the result if an
author maintained just one mood throughout a story?
3.
‘The Black Cat’ is a Gothic tale. Is it possible to have a horror story in a modern
setting and still create the proper tone and mood? For example, how can you develop
a tone and mood that will turn an ordinary home into a setting for a horror story?
Think of some examples from books you have read, movies you have seen, or even
true stories from news accounts.
Discussing the story:
4.
How do you account for the narrator’s behaviour when the police arrive? Why do
you think he calls attention to the wall where his wife’s body is concealed?
5.
Why do black cats appear so often in mystery and horror stories? There have been
books and articles written throughout history about cats. You may want to research
the history of cats and tell how they have been regarded at various times and in
various places around the world.
6.
Can you find a message in the story relating to violence against women? How is the
situation of the wife in the story (about 1850) similar to problems faced by some
women today? How is her situation different?
Discussing Poe’s work:
7.
Poe used Gothic conventions in many of his stories. Gothic conventions include
morbid concerns such as muder, horror, mystery, decay, evil, magic, and the
supernatural. Gothic settings typically include fens, bogs, ruins, cemeteries, etc.
Gothic characters include evil princes, ‘ruined’ men, and deranged or deformed
creatures. How many of the Gothic conventions can you find in ‘The Black Cat’?
8.
Poe uses a first-person point of view in the story. You see things through the eyes and
mind of the narrator who tells his own story. How is it possible to get a true picture of
the character if he is telling about himself?
9.
Poe’s use of language is not the style that writers use today – even for horror stories.
Nevertheless, people who like a good scary story still love to listen to stories told in
Poe’s style. How does this langauge make a good horror story?
WRITING EXERCISE
1.
Write a paragraph that describes something or someone familiar – your home, a
room, a pet, a friend. Give the description a pleasant, cheerful tone.
2.
Write a second paragraph describing the same thing but this time give the description
a tone that makes it unpleasant or frightening.