Mood and Tone
Learning Targets
• I can define what tone and mood mean and
explain the difference between the two.
• I can identify the mood of various works and
explain how I know.
• I can identify the tone of various works and
explain how I know.
Mood – it’s all about you, the reader!
• MOOD is the overall feelings or emotions
that are created IN THE READER.
• Author’s ‘move’ their readers’ moods
through their choice of words and level of
details.
What is the mood? How do you know?
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 forlornly by the
side of the road to be picked up.
Mood: Dreary, depressed. How do we
know? "cold, sigh, brittle, forlornly"
What is the mood? How do you feel?
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
warm 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.
Mood: Content, happy. How do we know? Words
like "warm, excited, glittered” are used by the
author.
Mood: “A Gift in His Shoes”
Donovan and Larry were early for baseball
practice. They decided to run up and down
the bleachers to exercise before the rest of the
team arrived.
Larry was first to the top. He whispered to
Donovan, “Look over there.” He pointed to a
man sleeping on the highest, narrow bench of
the bleachers. His pants and shirt were faded,
worn, and too large for his thin frame. One
big toe stuck out of a huge hole in his sock.
His scraped-up shoes sat a few feet away.
Donovan whispered, “We should help him out.
Let’s hide something good in his shoes. Then,
when he wakes up, he will have a nice
surprise.”
Mood: “A Gift in his Shoes”
How would you describe the mood of this
passage?
a. Angry
b. Detached
c. Sympathetic
Evidence?
1. How does this song make you feel?
What is the mood?
‘Auschwitz-Birkenau’ from the Schindler’s List
soundtrack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSeObaTwsGY
&safe=active
a. Relaxed
b. Cheerful
c. Depressed
How do you know?
2. How does this poem make you feel?
How do you know?
a. Fearful
b. Tense
c. Hopeless
What is the textual evidence that supports your
opinion?
Tone – It’s all about the author
• TONE is simply the author’s attitude
toward the subject or topic.
• You can recognize the tone/attitude
by the language/word choices the
author uses.
• The author’s language will reveal his or
her perspective/opinion (that is,
whether it is positive/negative) about
the subject.
• Tone must be inferred through the use
Tone and Connotation
• Positive and Negative Connotation
– Connotation is the feeling that words evoke beyond the
literal (dictionary) meaning


Words can evoke positive and negative feelings or reactions. They can
also reflect the speaker or writer’s feelings or reactions towards the
subject they are discussing.
Some words are considered neutral – neither positive or negative.
• Informal and Formal Language
– Certain types of words and ways of speaking and writing
to fit where we are and who we are communicating with.
Graphing Words
The following words are considered neutral. Choose 3-4 words and write
them in the center of the chart. Then, identify synonyms for the word that fit
into each section of the chart:
Positive Formal, Positive Informal, Negative Formal, Negative Informal
•
•
•
•
•
•
Money
Proud
Marriage
Social
Police Officer
Activist
•
•
•
•
•
Boy
Democrat
Girl
Educated
Republican
How did Nazi Germany use Language? What
would be the effect of using the literal word
v. the real meaning?
Literal Word
Exterminated
Liquidated
Actions
Special Treatment
Bath Installations
Resettlement
Evacuation
The Final Solution
genocide
Really Meant
Murdered
Murdered
Missions to seek out Jews and kill
them
The Death Process in camp
Gas Chambers
Murdered
Murdered
The decision to commit
What is the tone? How do you know?
Finally, one of the girls pointed to the grass
and giggled. "Meow!" A cat sat on the edge
of the field and licked its paw. They did
indeed have company. The girls ran over to
the cat and pet his belly. They laughed and
the cat sauntered back to the field.
Evidence?
The tone of this passage is
happy/contentment as there was a
successful, happy resolution to the
problem.
What is the tone? How do you
know?
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.
Tone
How would you describe the tone [attitude] of
this author?
a. Angry
b. Ominous
c. Affectionate
Evidence?
• The tone of this passage is ominous, suggesting a
little bit of fear or foreboding. Words like "caution,
dark, and looming“ lead readers to the tone.
What is the author’s tone in this this
song? How do you know?
a. Indifferent
b. Angry
c. Defiant
Evidence?