MS. GUADALUPE CARRASCO CARDONA
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Definition:     Tone is the verbal stance the author assumes toward the reader and his subject as reflected in his “voice.”  It is the quality of language and voice used to convey the speaker’s Attitude toward the subject or audience and is perceived through the various methods and diction used to convey the events of the work.  In oral conversation the “tone of voice” may be determined by listening to the words themselves, their inflection, modulation, denotation, and connotation, pitch, stress, or other sound regulators.  However, since words on a page are flat, other methods of discernment must be employed.

                        Mood is the overall atmosphere created by the speaker, the setting the events, or narrator.

                        Attitude is the feeling the speaker holds toward the characters, events, or situation he is relating to the audience.

                        With few exceptions and for most practical purposes TONE = ATTITUDE

Problem:        The terms “tone” and “attitude” may become indistinct.

Problem:        Students often equate the speaker with the author.

Problem:        To misinterpret tone is to misinterpret meaning.

Process:          Understanding tone requires making inferences during and after a close reading of a work.  The students must distinguish the techniques used to establish “tone,” “mood,” and “attitude.”

Results:          Understanding and analyzing the difference between “tone,” “mood,” and “attitude” and perceiving tonal shifts.

Objective:      Students should be able to show in verbal and written discussions their understanding of the techniques used by the author to establish attitude and achieve a certain tone.

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Analyzing how Tone Contributes to Meaning and Attitude in Literature – In order to answer these questions, a student will need to examine the speaker’s diction: circling words is a good strategy 



 1.              How does the author feel toward his subject?

2.              How does the author feel about the characters?

3.              How does the author feel about the events presented?

4.              How does the author feel about his audience (readers)?

5.              Can or does the author have different feelings for his subject and / or his audience?

6.              Does the narrator feel the same as the author?

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All of these “feelings” determine the TONE and the ATTITUDE of the work. Strategies for determining MOOD: The mood of a piece is generally the overall atmosphere created by the diction, setting, characters, and events and is an important aspect of its style and might be described as:

1.     Joyful 2. Humorous 3. Ironic 4. Satiric (Horation) 5. Sarcastic 6. Sentimental 7. Melancholy

8. Satiric (Juvenalian) 9. Optimistic 10. Pessimistic 11. Superior 12. Insecure 13. Distant 14. Intimate

Associated Descriptive Vocabulary by Category Speaker: humble, shallow, bold, insipid, haughty, imperious, proud, audacious, confident, insecure, credulous, innocent, naïve, triumphant, vivacious, insolent, sincere, inane, vain, gullible, foolish

Ironic words: playful, witty, humorous, sarcastic, sardonic, caustic, acerbic, flippant, cynical, mocking, biting, smirking, sneering, derisive, icy

Reverent: awed, veneration, amazed, impressed Love: affectionate, cherish, fond, admiring, tender, sentimental, romantic, adoring, narcissistic, passionate, lustful, rapturous, ecstatic, infatuated, enamored, compassionate

Joyful: glad, exalted, zealous, merry, gleeful, delightful, cheerful, gay, sanguine, mirthful, enjoy, relish, bliss

Calm: serene, tranquil, placid, content Sad: somber, solemn, melancholy, sorrowful, lamenting, despair, despondent, regretful, dismal, funereal, saturnine, dark, gloomy, dejected, grave, grief, morose, sullen, bleak, forlorn, disconsolate, distressed, agonized, anguished, depressed, barren, empty, pitiful

Angry: vehement, enraged, outraged, irritated, indignant, vexed, incensed, petulant, irascible, riled, bitter, acrimonious, irate, fury, wrathful, rancorous, consternation, hostile, choleric, frustrated, exasperated, aggravated, futile, umbrage, gall, bristle

Hate: vengeful, detest, abhor, animosity, malice, pique, rancor, aversion, loath, despise, scorn, contempt, disdain, jealous, repugnant, repulsed, resent, spiteful, disgusted

Fear: timid, apprehensive, anxious, terrified, horrified, agitated, sinister, alarmed, startled, uneasy, qualms, angst, trepidation, intimidated, spooked, dread, phobia, appalled
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Attitude:

      One of the most frequently examined concepts on both the AP Language and the Literature exams is that

of the attitude of the speaker.  It is at once obscure, abstract, and elusive for most high school students.  Yet,

with a systematic approach, it can be determined.  Often it requires that the student examine the smallest unit

of composition – the written word – for denotation and connotation, register, and other aspects of emotional

perspective.  The attitude of a speaker can run the gamut from objective and journalistic to emotional and

biased. The attitude is reflected in both his tone of voice and the mood of the story.  It is the feelings the

author holds towards his subject: the people in his narrative, the events, the setting, or even the theme.  It

might be the feeling he holds for the reader.  At times the attitude might be serious or humorous, detached or

involved, ironic or straightforward.
            
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1.   Abstract                Theoretical, without reference to specifics

2.   Absurd:                 Contrary to logic, but sometimes artistically viable

3.   Affected:              Assuming a false manner or attitude to impress others

4.   Ambiguous:           Having two or more possible meanings

5.   Analytical:            Inclined to examine things by studying their contents or parts.

6.   Anecdotal:            Involving short narratives of interesting events

7.   Angry:                  Resentful, enraged

8.   Archaic:                In the style of an earlier period

9.   Austere:                Stern, strict, frugal, unadorned

10. Banal:                   Pointless and uninteresting

11. Baroque:               Elaborate, grotesque, and ornamental

12. Bizarre:                 Unusually strange or odd

13. Bland:                   Undisturbing, unemotional, and uninteresting

14. Bombastic:            Pretentious and pompous

15. Breezy:                 Quick-paced, but sometimes superficial

16. Childish:                Immature (when applied to adults or to writing): Expressing contempt 

17. Cinematic:            Having the qualities of a motion picture

18. Classical:               Formal, enduring, and standard, adhering to certain traditional methods

19. Colloquial:            Characteristic or ordinary and informal conversation

20. Comic:                  Humorous, funny, light (there are many levels of comedy)

21. Concise:                Using very few words to express a great deal

22. Confessional:        Characterized by personal admissions of faults

23. Contemptuous      Feeling superior, disdainful        

24. Convincing:          Persuasive, believable, plausible

25. Convoluted:           Very complicated or involved (as in the case of sentences with many

                                   qualifiers, phrases, and clauses)

26. Crepuscular:          Having to do with twilight or shadowy areas (as in the darker and more hidden

                                   parts of human experience)

27. Cynical:                A tendency to believe that all human behavior is selfish and opportunistic

28. Decadent:             Marked by decay in morals, values, and artistic standards

29. Depressing:           Sad, gloomy (without any redeeming qualities of true tragedy)

30. Detached:             Disinterested, unbiased, emotionally disconnected

31 .Discursive:            Moving pointlessly from one subject to another; rambling

32. Dreamlike:            Having the characteristics of a dream

33. Earthy:                 Realistic, rustic, coarse, unrefined, instinctive animalize

34. Effeminate:          Soft, delicate, unmanly

35. Elegiac:                 Expressing sorrow or lamentation (elegy is a mournful poem)

36. Emotional:           Much given to strong feelings

37. Epistolary:            Involving letters

38. Erudite:                 Learned, scholarly

39. Eulogistic:             Involving formal praise in speech or writing, usually in honor of the dead

40. Evocative:            Having the ability to call forth memories or other responses

41. Expressionistic:       Stressing the subjective and symbolic in art and literature

42. Facetious:             Amusing, but light, unserious, frivolous

43. Farcical:                Humorous in a light way, comedy with high exaggeration

44. Fatalistic:              Believing that everything that happens is destined and, therefore, out of the hands of the individual

45. Flamboyant:         Conspicuously bold or colorful

46. Fluid:                    Flowing smoothly.

47. Iconoclastic:         Inclined to attack cherished beliefs and traditions

48. Impressionistic:       Inclined to use subjective impressions rather than objective reality

49. Ironic:                  Characterized by unexpected turn of events, often the opposite of the intended.

50. Irreverent:            Showing disrespect for things that are usually respected or revered.

51. Journalistic:          Characterized by the kind of language used in journalism

52. Lyrical:                 Intense, spontaneous, musical

53. Metaphorical:       Having the characteristics of melodrama in which emotions and plot are

                                   exaggerated and characterization is shallow

54. Mournful:             Feeling or expressing grief. (Certain literary forms are devoted to the

                                   expression of grief, such as elegies.)

55. Mundane:              Ordinary or common, as in everyday matters

56. Naturalistic:          Tending to present things in art and literature as they appear in nature or

                                   actuality.

57. Nostalgic:             Inclined to long for or dwell on things of the past; sentimental

58. Objective:             Uninfluenced by personal feelings. Making judgments based on facts

59. Ominous:              Indicating or threatening evil or danger as dark clouds indicate that storm is

                                   coming.

60. Parody:                 A satirical imitation of something serious, such as a comic takeoff of Romeo

                                   and Juliet. The parody must have enough elements of the original for it to be

                                   recognized.

61. Persuasive:            Able to get a person to do something or to agree with one by an appeal to                                   reason or other convincing devices.

62. Philosophical:       Interested in the study of basic truths of existence and reality.

63. Pious:                   Having or displaying a reverence for God and religion. Sometimes used

                                   pejoratively, when the display is excessive and overly righteous.

64. Poetical:               Having the qualities of poetry, such as pleasing rhythms or images.

65. Pompous:             Displaying one’s importance in an exaggerated way. Sometimes this quality

                                   is found in comic characters.

66. Primitive:             Simple and crude. (Primitivism in the arts tries to make use of a sophisticated

                                   way of what seems simple and crude.)

67. Prurient:               Preoccupied with lewd and lustful thoughts.

68. Psychological:      Having to do with the human mind and human behavior.

69. Puritanical:           Strict or severe in matters of morality.

70. Realistic:               Inclined to represent things as they really are.

71. Rhythmic:            Characterized by certain patterns, beats, or accents (dancing music, poetry.)

72. Romantic:             Having feelings or thoughts of love, but when associated with nineteenth

                                   century literature or any such literature it suggests a style that emphasizes

                                   freedom of form, imagination, and emotion.

73. Sardonic:               Mocking, taunting, bitter, scornful, sarcastic

74. Satirical:               Using sarcasm and irony, often humorously to expose human folly.

75. Sensuous:              Taking pleasure in things that appeal to the senses. (Sensual suggests a strong

                                 preoccupation with such things, especially sexual pleasures.)

76. Stark:                    Plain, harsh, completely (as in “stark raving mad’). Simple or bare, when

                                 applied to style, sometimes even bleak or grim.

77. Subjective:            Relying on one’s own inner impressions, a opposed to being objective.

78. Trite:                    Stale, worn out, as in trite expressions.

79. Urbane:                 Sophisticated, socially polished

80. Victorian:             Prudish, stuffy, and puritanical (qualities during with Queen Victoria’s reign.)

81. Whimsical:           Inclined to be playful, humorous, or fanciful

82. Wordy:                 Using more words than necessary to way what you have to say.

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  • Home
    • Fun Family Fotos
    • CHLS 215 Fall 2020 Collages
    • #iamethnicstudies
  • Teatro & ES Lessons
    • I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
    • Hip Hop Theatre & The Power to Change the World
    • Actos, Los Vendidos & Exposing Negative Stereotypes
    • Asian Americans in Theater & Film
    • Mental Health Awareness & The Power of Expressing It
    • Storytelling and the Power of Your Narrative
    • Asian American Artists' Impact on Theater & Film Industry
    • From Paper/Stage to Paper/Set - Plays That End Up on the Small Screen (TV)
  • Community Couch Time
  • Movie Theatre
    • Cardona's Favorites
    • Chicano! Documentary Series by PBS
    • Dope Documentaries
  • Transformative Justice
  • CHLS 105