Mark Twain

Tone is the word for the speaker's, or narrator's, attitude toward the message. It determines, to an extent, how we interpret what is said. For example, when authors speak ironically or sarcastically, we know that what they mean is the opposite of what they say. Oftentimes, the context of a statement will assist in our interpretation of tone. You might ask if a statement is consistent with what comes before or after it in order to discover the meaning. The tone of a story may be humorous or grave or bitter or ecstatic, just to name a few.

This is only a small part of the information that is contained in the chapter on tone. Some questions you might ask as you analyze the texts for this week might include the following:

How do character and point-of-view relate to the tone of the text? How does the author set the tone?

Does the tone change? Where does it change and how is it indicated? Can you define it in a word?

How does the tone affect our interpretation of the whole work?