Tone and Mood

Tone and mood both deal with the emotions centered around a piece of
writing. Though they seem similar and can in fact be related causally, they are in
fact quite different.

Tone
Tone is the authors attitude toward a subject. While journalistic writing
theoretically has a tone of distance and objectivity, all other writing can have
various tones.
If we were to read a description of a first date that included words and phrases like
dreaded and my buddies forced me to go on the date, we could assume that the
individual didnt really enjoy the date.
Some tone words include:

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

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

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

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

facetious
fervent
flippant
forthright
friendly
funny

sprightly
straightforward
sympathetic
tender
tranquil
whimsical

diabolic
disappointed
disliking
disrespectful
doubtful
embarrassed

self-deprecating
selfish
serious
severe
sinister
skeptical

Mood
Mood is the atmosphere of a piece of writing; its the emotions a selection arouses in
a reader.
Some common mood descriptors are:
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

One good way to see mood (and, to a degree, tone) in action is through genrecrossing movie trailers. In film editing classes throughout the States, a common assignment

is to take an existing film (say, a comedy) and create a film preview that presents the film as
a different genre (for example, a horror film). This is accomplished through editing and
splicing scenes, adding new, anxiety-producing music and sound effects, and adding a new
voice-over introduction.

SAMPLE EXERCISES:

1. Read the following poem, "A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti and answer the question below.

A.
B.
C.
D.

A.
B.
C.
D.

A.
B.
C.
D.

A.
B.
C.
D.

A.
B.
C.
D.

My heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is a weathered shoot; My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose
boughs are bent with thick-set fruit; My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon [peaceful] sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me. QUESTION: What mood do the details of
the poem convey? (Look specifically at the three things the speaker compares her heart to.)
sorrow
happiness
excitement
nervousness
Read
the
following
lines from "The Garden of Proserpine" by Algernon Swinburne. Then answer the question
2.
below. There go the loves thta wither [dry up],
The old loves with wearier wings; And all dead years draw thither
[there]
And disastrous things; Dead dreams of days foresaken, Blind buds that snows have shaken, Wild leaves
that winds have taken, Red strays of ruined springs. ... And love, grown faint and fretful With lips but half
regretful Sighs, and with eyes forgetful Weeps that no loves endure [last]. QUESTION: In the first two lines, what
images does the speaker use to describe love?
loves that go away and have exhausted wings
loves that grow both wobbly and worrisome
loves that die
loves whose is both young and old
3. Read the following lines from "The Garden of Proserpine" by Algernon Swinburne. Then answer the question
below. There go the loves thta wither [dry up],
The old loves with wearier wings; And all dead years draw thither
[there]
And disastrous things; Dead dreams of days foresaken, Blind buds that snows have shaken, Wild leaves
that winds have taken, Red strays of ruined springs. ... And love, grown faint and fretful With lips but half
regretful Sighs, and with eyes forgetful Weeps that no loves endure [last]. QUESTION: What mood do the details
in the poem convey?
wastefulness and excess
happiness
sadness and despair
mistrust
4. Which tone is represented in the following passage? Wow! With a top speed of one hundred fifty miles per hour,
that car can almost fly!
calm
annoyed
scary
excited
5. Which tone is represented in the following passage? She delicately placed the cooing baby on a soft, freshly
cleaned blanket.
calm
annoyed
scary
excited

6. Which tone is represented in the following passage? As that hurricane threatened, the wind's blast caused

angry fifteen-foot waves to crash over the small houses near the shore.
calm
annoyed
scary
excited
7. Which tone is represented in the following passage? Ugh! Do I really have to sit through another boring lecture on
data entry again.
A.
calm
B.
annoyed
C.
scary
D.
excited
8. What is the tone of the following passage? The alarm buzzed. Jordan smashed her fist down on it--hard. It flew off
teh nightstand and bounced off her cat, Armstrong. The cat yowled indignantly and rocketed out the room.
A.
eerie
B.
sarcastic
C.
passionate
D.
humorous
A.
B.
C.
D.

TONE Examples:
A.
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.

What is the overall tone of this passage?

What words helped you to figure out the tone?

B.
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.
What is the overall tone of this passage?
What words helped you to figure out the tone?
C.
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. Lets hide something good in
his shoes. Then, when he wakes up, he will have a nice surprise.

How would you describe the tone [attitude] of this author?

a. Angry

b. Detached
c. Sympathetic
What evidence can you give?

MOOD Examples:
A.
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.
What is the mood of this passage?
What clues helped you to determine the mood?
.B.
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.
What is the mood of this passage?
What clues helped you to determine the mood?

Expected Answers for TONE:

Example 1
A possible 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.
Example 2

The tone of this passage is happy/playful as there was a successful, happy resolution
to the problem. Words like, belly and giggled were used.

Expected answers for MOOD:

Mood: Dreary, depressed.

How do we know? "cold, sigh, brittle, forlornly"

Mood: Content, happy.

How do we know? Words like "warm, excited, glittered are used by the author.