TONE: The author's attitude towards what he/she is writing.IDENTIFYING TONE
Tone can be Negative, Positive or Neutral. To find tone: 1. Identify powerful words in the paragraph. 2. Determine if these words are positive, neutral or negative. 3. Select an appropriate word that describes the paragraph based on the positive, negative, or neutral words used. Example: The picture to the left shows stones stacked together on a green field along a gray sky. What kind of tone does the gray sky create? Positive, neutral or negative? Think of a negative word that explains the tone of this picture. The tone in a story can be joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic, and optimistic. Your tone in writing will be reflective of your mood as you are writing. Helpful webistes: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-tone-of-a-poem.html Help and a quiz: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_henry_sr_1/0,7967,1663702-,00.html Helpful Slideshow!!!! http://www.slideshare.net/duongvandai03/tone-1783615 |
So, isn't that the same as Mood?Not exactly. MOOD refers to the way the text makes the READER feel. It has nothing to do with the author. If I feel stressed out after reading the awesome book, The Hunger Games, that is not the same as the author's tone. Instead, I am stressed out because of the situation I find the character's in (especially when Katniss is running from those fireballs!)
MOOD: The way the story makes the READER feel. Elements of ToneConnotation and Denotation
Connotation The connotation of a word refers to the images or other words associated with the word. In other words, it relates to what the word makes you think of. Example: House: implies a building where people live Home: implies a place where people love and protect one another These two words have the same definition, however, one FEELS more emotional than another. Look at the picture below. Imagine if the sign said, "Welcome to your house daddy!" It would not have the same effect as saying, "Welcome Home!" DenotationDenotation refers to the direct definition of a word as from a dictionary.
Example: Loneliness (n.): feeling sad through being without friends or company The connotation of loneliness, however, makes people think of someone feeling sad and alone. |