MOOD AND TONE

What feeling does the above photo give you? Be specific as to why it gives you that feeling.

(Slide 2)

SAMPLE ANSWER:

1. lots of space / few trees feels lonely

2. bare trees / black/white coloring

seems lifeless

3. shadows emphasize a lonely feeling

FORLORN

LONELY

Mood

a. Mood is the feeling the

reader or viewer gets while

reading or watching.

b. Remember the "m" in

mood for "my feelings"

c. What is the girl‘s

mood?

cheerful thoughtful

frightened angry (Slide 4)

What is Mood?

• The mood of a text is how the

reader feels after reading

• The details that the author uses

can help create mood

• The words that the author uses

can help create mood

(Slide 5)

How would you describe the mood of each person?

LOOKING AT A PERSON’S FACIAL

EXPRESSIONS (USUALLY) MAKES IT

EASY TO DETERMINE THEIR MOOD

BUT, HOW DOES A READER DETERMINE THE

MOOD OF A PASSAGE, TEXT, OR STORY?

HOW DO AUTHORS CREATE THE

MOOD?

1. By describing the setting

2. The author’s choice of words

(denotation vs. connotation)

3. The way the author uses sentence

structure in the text.

4. The author’s use of figurative language

(Slide 8)

TONE is the author’s

feeling or attitude toward

the subject.

MOOD is the feeling the

reader gets from reading

the text.

**Authors create the

mood by setting the tone.

The author would describe this setting in writing or use this setting in a film if he or she wanted to create what mood?

Mood and Setting – Slide 9

eerie depressing lonely deserted empty

The author would describe this setting in writing or use this setting in a film if he or she wanted to create what mood?

Slide 10

hopeful wishful contemplative

The author would describe this setting in writing or use this setting in a film if he or she wanted to create what mood?

Slide 11peaceful contemplative restful

Watch your mood ring change!

• There may be, and usually is, more than one

mood that is elicited from a piece of

literature. • Just think of the last

movie you watched...• For example, the movie

Avatar has romance,suspense, humor….

However, setting isn 't everything! An empty, barren landscape or a cemetery can be cheery just as a wedding can be horrifying. It all depends on the details the writer chooses to include.

The old house above could be describe in many different ways: spooky, mysterious, peaceful, tranquil, nostalgic....etc. Slide 13

Mood and Connotation/Denotation

Words have a dictionary definition. This is the denotation of the word

• Words also have a connotation. This is what the word suggests or implies.

• Connotation goes hand in hand with mood. The connotative meaning of a word helps set the mood.

Grey

• A mixture of black and white (denotation)

• Depressing, sad, and gloomy (connotation) (Slide 14)

Mood and Connotation(Slide 15)

• Everyone reacts emotionally to certain words

• Writers often deliberately select words that they think will

influence your reactions and appeal to your emotions.

• All words have either a positive, negative or neutral

connotation.

(Slide 15)

Anorexic vs. Slender vs. Skinny

What is the difference?

•Nothing really as far denotation goes

However, the connotation is different:

•Skinny sounds more judgmental and less flattering than

slender

•Anorexic sounds unappealing and unhealthy; it usually

conjures up images of sickly looking people.

Slide 16

Consider the different moods and

connotations of words within the groups

1. Creepy, weird, unusual

2. Empty, unoccupied, deserted

3. Horrified, frightened, sickened

4. Happy, ecstatic, elated, content

5. Strut, walk, skip, trudge, march, sidle

(Slide 17)

Read the following sentence and choose the word that best fits the mood

intended. Consider how the mood would change if the other words were

used. (Slide 18)

• "You look lovely in that blue dress; it shows off your

__________ figure."

skinny slender bony

(Slide 18)

Everyone in the office respects Lori because of her

kind but __________ attitude.

• bossy assertive domineering

Slide 19

"Here's a scholarship that you might qualify for," said Huck’s

advisor. "It's for people who are __________ ."

poverty-stricken underprivileged dirt poor

struggling to make ends meet

Slide 20

Mood and Sentence Structure

MOOD can be affected by sentence structure.

• You could use a long compound sentence to create a

calm or peaceful mood.

• A series of short sentences may help create a suspenseful

mood.

• Fragments (incomplete sentences) may help to create

confusion.

Slide 21

Read the following sentence. What is the mood? What words help to create the mood?

▪ The mysterious man stumbled down the cold, dark alley, pulling his coat tightly around him in the midnight air.

Slide 22

More practice with mood and

connotation

1. List 5 words/phrases that a writer could use to create a

"mysterious,” “spooky” or “scary” mood:

creaking doors, dark shadows, stale odor, howling wind,

cat screeching

2. List 5 words/phrases that a writer could use to create a

peaceful mood.

soft breeze, birds chirping, warm sun, wind chimes

tinkling, fragrant flowers Slide 23

Read the following passage. What is the mood? What words or phrases

contribute to the mood?

Slide 24

... And so the days passed. David lost count of them, for it was dark all the time and there was nothing to distinguish day from night. Once he woke he picked up the strange bottle by mistake for his own, and after that he took a drink from it every time staying awake any longer grew too much for him, for he discovered that drinking from it soon made him feel sleepy. It tasted good, too - a little strong perhaps but not unpleasant and then he could sleep a while longer.

-I am David by Anne Holm

Mood ? cheerful frightening hopeless

Read the following passage. Slide 25

“My room belongs to an alien. It is a

postcard of who I was in the fifth grade.

It is a demented phase when I thought

that roses should cover everything and

pink was a great color. “

-Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Mood? thrilled dissatisfied sarcastic

Underline words or phrases that contribute to

the mood.

Read the following passage.

“Do this!” I command myself. Clenching my jaw, I dig my hands under Glimmer’s body, get a hold on what must be her rib cage, and force her onto her stomach. I can’t help it, I’m hyperventilating now, the whole thing is so nightmarish and I’m losing my grip on what’s real. “

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Mood? hopeful tense peaceful

(Slide 26)

Tone and Mood may be the same…

▪ For example, the Adopt-a-Child commercials…the writer uses a sympathetic tone which elicits sympathy from viewers.

▪ The Adopt-a-Pet commercials from the Humane Society …the writer shows sweet, sad animals in their cages, which evokes sympathy from the viewers.

(Slide 27)

Tone and Mood are sometimes Different

• For example, news articles usually have an objective tone.

• However, suppose you read an article about a new mall going up. What would your mood be?

• What if it was a news article about a cold blooded murder in your town. What would your mood be?

MOOD AND TONEWhat is the tone? What is the mood?

Slide 29

1. The adorable children flitted through the park

making patterns in the grass as they went.

(tone: positive, peaceful; mood: playful; )

2. The wild children stamped through the park,

flattening the grass as they went.

(tone: negative, disapproval; mood: rowdy)

Practice

▪ You walk into a restaurant wearing a cut off tee and gym shorts. Everyone else is dressed in suits and dresses.

1. The tone that the owners of the restaurant are trying to achieve is __________.

2. Your mood is likely to be_______.

(Slide 30)

Practice

• The following passages are on

the back of your note sheet.

Follow the directions for each

passage.

Slide 31

• I whirled round, and there, on one of those dry gravel beds, was the biggest snake I had ever seen. He was sunning himself, after the cold night, and he must have been asleep when Antonia screamed. When I turned, he was lying in long loose waves, like a letter “W.” He twitched and began to coil slowly. He was not merely a big snake, I thought – he was a circus monstrosity. His abominable muscularity, his loathsome, fluid motion, somehow made me sick. He was as thick as my leg and looked as if millstones couldn’t crush the disgusting vitality out of him. He lifted his hideous little head, and rattled. I didn’t run because I didn’t think of it – if my back had been against a stone wall I couldn’t have felt more cornered. I saw his coils tighten – now he would spring, spring his length, I remembered. I ran up and drove at his head with my spade, struck him fairly across the neck, and in a minute he was all about my feet in way loops.

• from My Antonia,Willa Cather (Slide 32)

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S

ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE

SNAKE?

• A. Curiosity

• B. Horror

• C. Disgust

• D. Disinterest

Underline the words that illustrate the AUTHOR’S TONE.

Slide 33

Iguacu Falls, which sit on the border between Argentina and Brazil, are said to make Niagara Falls look like a leaky faucet. The great cataracts stretch for two and a half miles across lushly foliaged rocky outcroppings before plunging a staggering two hundred and thirty feet into the river below. The falls region is densely forested, and is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including a number of endangered ones. It is a paradise where parrots dive and swoop through the spray, butterflies cavort among the tropical plants and coatis, and giant otters and anteaters amble through the trees. The foliage itself varies between tropical and deciduous with orchids blushing in the shade of pines and ferns nodding gracefully in the shadow of fruit trees.

• The author’s attitude toward Iguacu Falls can best be described as which of the following?

A. Overblown pride.

B. Positive appreciation

C. Mild acceptance

D. Uncaring objectivity

Underline the words that illustrate the AUTHOR’S TONE. Slide 35

LESSON

SUMMARY:

AUTHORS HAVE SEVERAL

TECHNIQUES FOR SETTING THE

“TONE” which affects the “MOOD.”

1. Description of setting

2. Word Choice (connotation, figurative

language, imagery)

3. Sentence Structure

4. REMEMBER: TONE and MOOD

ARE CONNECTED, but not always

THE SAME.

Slide 36

TONE: the author’s

attitude towards the

subject he/she is writing

about

MOOD: the feeling the

reader gets from a story,

article, or passage.