Tone (literature)

Tone is a literary technique that is a part of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, guilty, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Tone and mood are not interchangeable. The tone of a story is often defined as what the author is feeling towards the subject, rather than what the reader feels. What the reader feels is defined as the mood.

Usage

Under the element of cadence, the tone of a piece of work can be found in many ways. All pieces of literature, even official documents, have some sort of tone.

In many cases, the tone of a piece of work may change. Elements of tone include diction, or word choice; syntax, the grammatical arrangement of words in a text for effect; imagery, or vivid appeals to the senses; details, facts that are included or omitted; extended metaphor, language that compares seemingly unrelated things throughout the composition.

Tone in literature, the manner in which written words might be said (for example, sarcastic, mild, witty, angry).

Tone is hard to separate from mood, but in general the tone of a work can gradually shift (perhaps from sarcastic to ironic or from angry to remorseful), while mood describes the feeling of the entire piece. The tone of a work is produced mainly by the writer's diction or choice of words, but stylistic choices concerning syntax, line or sentence length, imagery, and so forth may also contribute.

Tone is an element used frequently in poetry to convey feeling and emotion, and set the mood for the work. It is important to note that tone and mood are not interchangeable.