The Tell-Tale HeartEdgar Allan Poe
Mood and Tone Notes
What is Tone?
• Style or manner of expression in speech or writing.
• It is the attitude that an author takes toward the audience, subject, or character.
• Tone is shown through the author’s words and details.
What is Tone?
• Tone can be identified by paying attention to the author’s word choice.
• The same phrase can be written in different tones
What is Tone?
Example - A sarcastic tone in a student (author) can create anger in the teacher (audience)
Some adjectives used to describe tone: serious, humorous, angry, neutral, gloomy, sad, cheerful, suspicious, lighthearted, mysterious
What is Mood?
It’s the feeling that a work of literature creates in a reader.
It is a feeling you get based on the setting the author describes
What is Mood?
Mood is the emotion created due to an author’s tone
Tone is created by the author, mood is created by you.
What is Mood?
• Example – A sarcastic tone in a student (author) can create anger in the teacher (audience), which can put the teacher (audience) in an angry mood. Your tone has affected my mood.
• Some adjectives used to describe mood:
Optimistic, romantic, mournful, excited, joyful.
What is Symbolism?
A person, place, a thing, or an event that has meaning in itself and stands for something beyond itself.
Ex. Bald Eagle is a symbol for the United States
What might a black cat symbolize?
What is Irony?
A contrast between expectation and reality.
Three types of irony to look for in “The Tell Tale Heart”:1.Verbal Irony2.Situational Irony3.Dramatic Irony
What is Verbal Irony?
This occurs when there is a difference between what a character says and what another character understands.
Example-You see someone that has just struck out in baseball and you say, “Great job, slugger.”
What is Situational Irony?
This occurs when what happens is very different from what we expected to happen.
Example-You are driving by a firehouse and you see that it is on fire.
What is Dramatic Irony?
Foreshadowing and Climax
