TONE AND STYLE
Tone is defined as the writer or speaker’s attitude toward the subject.
Developing a Tone Vocabulary
Afraid
Allusive
Angry
Apologetic
Audacious
Bantering
Benevolent
Bitter
Boring
Burlesque
Candid
Childish
Clinical
Cold
Colloquial
Compassionate
Complimentary
Concerned
Condescending
Confident
Confused
Contemptuous
Contentious
Cynical
Detached
Didactic
Diffident
Disdainful
Dramatic
Dreamy
Effusive
Elegiac
Facetious
Factual
Fanciful
Flippant
Frivolous
Giddy
Happy
Hollow
Horrific
Humorous
Impartial
Incisive
Indignant
Inflammatory
Informative
Insipid
Insolent
Ironic
Irreverent
Joking
Joyful
Learned
Lugubrious
Mock-epic
Mocking
Mock-serious
Moralistic
Nostalgic
Objective
Patronizing
Peaceful
Pedantic
Petty
Pitiful
Poignant
Pretentious
Proud
Provocative
Restrained
Sad
Sarcastic
Sardonic
Satiric
Scornful
Seductive
Sentimental
Sharp
Shocking
Silly
Somber
Sweet
Sympathetic
Taunting
Tired
Turgid
Upset
Urgent
Vexed
Vibrant
Whimsical
Zealous
Words that Describe Language
Abstruse
Archaic
Artificial
Bombastic
Concrete
Connotative
Cultured
Deflated
Detached
Emotional
Esoteric
Euphemistic
Exact
Figurative
Formal
Grotesque
Homespun
Idiomatic
Informal
Jargon
Learned
Literal
Lyrical
Moralistic
Mundane
Obscure
Obtuse
Pedantic
Picturesque
Plain
Poetic
Pompous
Precise
Pretentious
Provincial
Scholarly
Sensuous
Simple
Slang
Symbolic
Trite
Vulgar
Changes or shifts in tone will often be signaled by the following:
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Key words (but, yet, nevertheless, however, although, etc.)
Punctuation (dashes, periods, colons)
Stanza and paragraph divisions
Changes in line, stanza, or sentence length
TONE AND STYLE
Style is defined as the way an author writes (the way she or he uses strategies).
There are at least four areas that may be considered when analyzing style: diction, sentence structure, treatment of
subject matter, and figurative language.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Diction (choice of words) – describe diction by considering the following:
a. Words may be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more than one syllable in
length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words, the more difficult the content.
b. Words may be mainly colloquial (slang), informal (conversational), formal (literary), or oldfashioned.
c. Words may be mainly denotative (containing an exact meaning) or connotative (containing a
suggested meaning).
d. Words may be euphonious (pleasant sounding) or cacophonous (harsh sounding).
Sentence Structure – describe the sentence structure by considering the following:
a. Examine the sentence length. Are the sentences telegraphic (shorter than five words in length),
medium (approximately 18 words in length), or long and involved (30 words or more in length)?
Does the sentence length fit the subject matter; what variety of lengths are present? Why is the
sentence length effective?
b. A rhetorical question is a question which expects no answer. It is used to draw attention to a
point and is generally stronger than a direct statement.
c. Examine sentence beginnings. Is there a good variety, or does a pattern emerge?
d. Examine the arrangement of ideas in the sentence. Are they set out in a special way for a
purpose?
e. Examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph to see if there is evidence of any pattern or
structure.
Treatment of Subject Matter – describe the author’s treatment of subject matter by considering the
following. Has the author been:
a. Subjective – are his conclusions based upon opinions; are they rather personal in nature?
b. Objective – are his conclusions based upon facts; are they impersonal or scientific?
c. Supportive of his main idea? If so, how did he support his claims? Did he state his opinions, report
his evidence, report observations, refer to readings, refer to statements made by experts, or use
statistical data?
Figurative Language – (not an inclusive list…see other handouts for additional examples)
a. Simile
f. Paradox
l. Apostrophe
b. Metaphor
g. Oxymoron
m. Allusion
c. Personification
h. Pun
n. Synecdoche
d. Hyperbole
i. Irony
o. Metonymy
e. Understatement
j. Sarcasm
(meiosis)
k. Antithesis
Elements of Rhetoric
1.
2.
Style
a. Syntax
b. Diction
c. Point of view
d. Tone
e. Imagery
Modes of Discourse
a. Definition
b. Cause/effect (causal)
c. Comparison/contrast
d. Argumentation
e. Description
f.
g.
h.
Figures of
speech
Phrasing
Coordination/s
ubordination
i.
j.
k.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
Selection of
detail
Parallelisms
Repetition
Narration
Summary
Persuasion
Classification/division
Process analysis
Some generalizations about literature:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Authors usually devalue materialism.
As a rule, authors do not value formal religion. They do, however, generally value individual reverence.
Authors value mutability.
Authors are rarely neutral about the carpe-diem theme.
Authors’ thinking often runs counter to their own cultural training.
TONE AND STYLE
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Authors are not only our social historians; they are also our social critics.
In the conflict between the individual and society, authors normally value the individual more than society.
Most authors attack overweening pride.
Most authors have a critical tone toward war.
In much literature, the family is a source of the most passionate kind of conflict.
Words that Describe the Reader’s Perception of the Speaker:
Audacious
Austere
Bold
Confident
Credulous
Fatuous
Gullible
Haughty
Humble
Imperious
Inane
Innocent
Insecure
Insipid
Insolent
Naïve
Proud
Shallow
Sincere
Triumphant
Vain
Vivacious
Summary of things to consider: (not an inclusive list)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Diction
Tone
Syntax –
a. sentence structure
b. word order
c. parallelism
d. spelling and grammar conventions (or lack thereof)
e. phrasing
f. punctuation
g. repetition of any of these elements
Figurative language
Imagery –
a. auditory, visual, gustatory, tactile, olfactory, kinetic, organic
b. Look for categories of images (light, youth, energetic, sour, etc.)
c. Look for contrasting images (light/dark, old/young, black/red, sweet/sour, etc.)
Point of View
Organization
Musicality
a. Euphony
b. Cacophony
Rhyme or Meter
a. Formal or informal
b. Conventional or unconventional
c. Absence of
Use of Time
a. Flashback
b. Frame story
Allusion
Repetition
Selection of Detail – concrete or metaphorical