TONE

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TONE
By Christopher Tsun and Jonathan
Kao
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Tone

• The speakers attitude toward his subject, his
  audience, or himself, which gives emotional
  meaning to the poem.

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Examples of Tone

• Eg. If a friend tells you,
• Im going to get married today. It is just a
  clear statement of fact.
• Hooray! Im going to get married today!
  (ecstatic tone)

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I cant believe it! Im going to get married
today! (incredulous tone) Horrors! Im going
to get married today. (despairing tone) Might
as well face it. Im going to get married today.
(resigned tone)
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Examples in the Book

• Example 1 For a Lamb by Richard Eberhart (poem
  116 in Sound and Sense)
• Example 2 A tiny cry within the night by Lynn
  Johnston (poem 129)

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Poem Group Work

• Look at Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold 126
• What is the mood of the poem?
• How does tone make the poem more effective?
• What literary features (diction, imagery,
  allusion, structure, metaphor or metonymy) are
  used in this poem
• Look at your assigned stanza and try to change
  the tone by replacing words or imagery.