Style

Tonewith a focus on IronyHow Style Choices, Figurative Language & Attitude Set the ToneTone. ENGL 151L1

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Arent some scary movies scary right from the start?

The title, even the color, size and font of the title set the tone. And the background!Tone. ENGL 151L2

The same with funny movies.

The films attitude toward super hero movies shows here.Tone. ENGL 151L3

And romantic movies too.

Of course, romance coming. But the pastel colors, hazy focus, and style of the title create the tone of a certain kind of romance. A long ago one perhaps? With much joy but also some sadness.Tone. ENGL 151L4

Choices of music, lighting, setting, dialogue, even the color, size & font of the title set a films tone (or mood).

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Music & toneMusic makes the film, some say. It affects mood and tone powerfully. No dont go up those stairs! We yell at the screen. Dont you hear the music?

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The composer who wrote the score for Creed said in an interview he couldnt get away from the iconic theme from the Rocky franchise. He tried, but felt he needed that music to set the tone. Listen:

Film Bonus Point OppEver seen a poorly made movie that relies too much on the music score? Or a movie that seems to have the wrong score? For up to 20 Bonus Points, send me an example of either type, with a 200 + word explanation of how the score fits or doesnt fit the story. For the full 20, discuss a specific scene and what the music does in/to it, with link and time flag. (e.g., at 3:15 the music surges)

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A poem with 18,383,645 hits!? Music, words and images work together in the viral poem To this Day. Listen to the first 3 minutes. The tone goes from a light, cute story about a little boy mixing up pork chop and karate chop to a heavy, solemn, serious testimony to the damage caused by bullying. Click here or the image above to view.

Notes on key tone shifts:Happy funny story, then around 1:17 at To this day I hate pork chops. BIG change of tone.1:20 Silence. Deeper tone, then: "I'm not the only kid who grew up this way. 1:25 Screen goes dark then soft piano enters.1:38 one cello with the words So we grew up believing no one would ever fall in love with us, that wed be lonely forever. So sad! More strings. Volume builds, drama builds. 3:00 Tone shifts, music upbeat, joyful: "They'll never understand that she's raising two kids whose definition of beauty begins with the word mom. . . . Because she's only ever always been amazing. Chills!

As a new story opens, the tone and music calm down for a bit before jumping on the mood roller coaster again.

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A personal story: Tone transcends language barriersWe can hear tone of voice in spoken language, even in a language we dont know. I was once in Turkey being hosted by the aunt of a Turkish friend. I didnt have any Turkish yet, and she had no English. In the market place one day I got lost. When we found each other, though Id hardly heard her speak before, she let out a stream of words. By the tone, which went from anxious to ticked off to relieved, I knew roughly what she was saying: Where the heck were you?! Dont wander off like that again! If I lose you Fatma will kill me. Well, Im glad I found you. Lets go eat. I responded with a stream of English that she seemed to understand exactly and we broke out laughing. And in laughter we were each multilingual.

Do you have a story about learning a language or understanding meaning through tone of voice? Start a thread on that in the forum this week. Bonus Points for you, plus others may want to share too.Tone. ENGL 151L9

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Oh no you didntIn conversation, people change meaning by changing their tone of voice. They emphasize certain words or add pauses, sometimes known as pregnant pauses because, figuratively speaking, they give birth to meaning; they cause listeners to expect it. Look:

Oh no, you didnt (just drop and break my phone)Oh no you didnt (ruin my birthday party, ___ did)Oh no you didnt (get me this new phone for my birthday)Tone. ENGL 151L10

But writers on the page dont have music or the tone of spoken languageAll they have is the written word. And us readers listening.Or not.Tone. ENGL 151L11

Kathryn Gordon (KG) - A risky tone choice for a lecture, don't you think?If you studied the Style lecture you already know a lot about Tone alreadyTone. ENGL 151L12In written language, writers employ use emphasis & pausing the same way speakers do. But because readers listen with the ear not the mind, and because writers are trying to entertain and uplift with language, they need more. That more is covered in the Style lecture:

The Words chosen (diction)The Order of the words (syntax)Sentence Structure (long, short, mixed, parallel)

I made style edits to this slide. For up to 10 Bonus Points describe the types of changes and discuss why I might have made them. Lecture Bonus opps are turned in by email

The choice of words:casual vs formal (or colloquial vs standard English) concrete vs abstractusual vs unusual (or conversational vs poetic)The order of the words: casual vs formal expected vs surprisingusual vs unusualThe Sentences: short vs long (or simple vs complex)mainly the same vs much variety

Tone. ENGL 151L13Flashback to Style Lecture Style is based on the Words, Word Order and Sentences

Hearing tone in a diction choice

The very end of A & P

His [the managers] face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.

Which word stands out here as less casual, less common? Hereafter is an unusual word for the Sammy character to use. Its like the author has poked through, or as if Sammy has suddenly become more adult. Hereafter is Biblical sounding. It hints at forever and eternity. It's a formal, dressed up word. Its Sammy glimpsing the larger picture and perhaps even reaching for a new identity. Yeah thats a lot for one word to do. But its the last word. Bet the author chose carefully.

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Hearing tone in a simileThe very end of A & P again:

His [the managers] face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.

As if, like the word like, signals a simile. There are many ways to say a back looks stiff. Stiff as a board. Stiff as a frozen popsicle. But as stiff as if hed had an injection of iron? Wow, thats stiff, painfully stuff. A strong person can bend a board, heat melts a popsicle. But iron? The simile communicates extreme rigidity. It also shifts the tone a notch to very serious. Stiff as a frozen popsicle would just have not worked here at all. The tone shift creates the effect of the ending. It makes that hereafter ring louder.

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Beyond Style and figurative languageBeyond style and simile choices, tone is harder to pin down. Its the authors attitude toward the topic. Its what we hear when someone is saying one thing and meaning something else. We sense it. Or we dont. Not being able to hear the tone under the words can get you in trouble, or just be awkward. But you said not to bring ___, if you wanted me to bring ___ why didnt you. A friend praising your new outfit, or are they? Tone. ENGL 151L16

What is the adult Jamaica Kincaids attitude toward the girl Jamaica?Raymonds Run and A & P are told in the voice of the main characters. The style is casual and conversational, the tone straight forward. "The Letter is different, isnt it? Its a childhood memory told by an adult. The adult knows a lot more about things than the child did. She can describe the childs attitude while also having a new adult attitude. In this distance of years and understanding is a gap. That gap is tone: the adults attitude toward what the story their younger selves lived. Some examples of tone in the gap, or attitude:

1) Of her mother she says, "I adored her but mostly what I adored about her was that she adored me." The audience laughs. The adult wisely understands the self-centeredness of the child.

2) "My mother became pregnant. I don't know how that happened." We know she knows, and she knows we know. Its a smart, subtle tone. It invites us in on the secret.

3) "I must have done a number of things that were not kind to him." We laugh, we know about sibling rivalry. In fact, a big part of the pleasure of this story is the wise, wise-cracking tone of the grown-up girl remembering and reflecting.

Do you think Kincaid uses the narrative distance at all to avoid discomfort or even emotional pain? Have you ever told a painful story in a funny or wise-cracking tone that creates a cushion for you, to keep strong feelings away? Ever heard someone do that? If so tell that story and send by email for up to 20 Bonus Points. You could also start a Bonus Points forum thread on that topic.

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Irony around us

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Irony is a tone common in literature and all around us. Its when the words say the opposite of the meaning, usually on purpose but . . .

not always

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Irony in Popular MechanicsAt the end of this very short story (pp 272-273) physical harm seems to come to the baby. But the one-sentence last paragraph says simply In this manner the issue was settled. The issue!? SETTLED!? Some readers might yelp. What is wrong with this guy Raymond Carver?

Youre not hearing my tone, Carver might answer, my attitude toward this mess. The understatement, a type of irony, is severe. Its a condemnation of parents who would tear a child apart, figuratively or literally. The battle for the baby is settled only in a sarcastic sense.

Well discuss this more in the forum. Tone. ENGL 151L20

More about Irony: or Saying the opposite of what is meantThree types of ironyUnderstatement Sarcasm Hyperbole

Tone. ENGL 151L21This photo of Americans waiting on line for food during The Great Depression of the 1930s makes an ironic, sarcastic comment.

Ironic UnderstatementTis but a scratch says Monty Pythons ridiculously tough black knight. Click here to view the scene.

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Sarcasm saying the opposite of whats meatHave a nice da-ayTone. ENGL 151L23

Visual sarcasm from The Watchmen

Hyperbole Exaggerating to create emphasis (used often in advertising)Tone. ENGL 151L24

Wow youre sofa is totally covered with cat hair!

Watch Irony rouse a crowd: Marc Anthony's oration from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"When that the poor have cried, Caesar wept:Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;And Brutus is an honorable man.You all did see that on the LupercalI thrice presented [Ceasar] a kingly crown,Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;And, sure, he is an honorable man.I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,But here I am to speak what I do know.

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And Dramatic IronyDramatic irony is when the audience knows something before a character does, creating interesting tension. Can you add to these examples for 10 Bonus Points?From Disney: Snow White doesn't know the old woman is the queen in disguise or that the apple is poisoned. In Little Mermaid, Ariel doesn't know Ursula is only using her to get to Triton. Eric doesn't know Ariel is a mermaid under a spell. In X-Men: First Class (the one with Fassbender & McAvoy) most of the audience would know Charles and Erik end up lifelong enemies of competing factions.Star Wars prequels: The audience knows Anakin will become Darth Vader. Flash: The audience knows Flashs mentor Dr. Harrison Wells is not really confined to that wheelchair and comes from the future.InThe Dark Knight Rises, Selina / Catwoman leads Batman into Bane's trap, only to discover too late that Batman is actually the millionaire guy she kinda-likes, Bruce Wayne, which we knew all along. Ironic and dramatic.Tone. ENGL 151L26