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Literature vocabulary · Core Concepts

Tone

Meaning in literature, with examples

/təʊn/nounCore term

In literature, tone means: The attitude that a writer or narrator shows toward the subject and the reader, expressed through word choice and style, such as ironic, serious or playful.

In Turkish: ton, anlatım tonu, yazarın tavrı

How it is used

Very common in essays and reviews. Critics describe tone with adjectives: ironic, nostalgic, bitter, detached, humorous, melancholic. The tone can shift or change during a text. Tone is the writer's attitude; mood is the feeling the reader gets.

Example sentences

  1. The tone of the letter is polite on the surface but full of anger underneath.

  2. Notice how the tone shifts from playful to bitter in the last paragraph.

Common collocations

  • ironic tone
  • the tone shifts
  • set the tone
  • detached tone
  • tone and mood
  • moodThe general feeling or atmosphere that a text creates in the reader, such as tension, sadness, peace or fear.
  • ironyA contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected and what actually happens, often used for humor or criticism.
  • narratorThe voice that tells the story to the reader. It may be a character in the story or an outside voice, and it is not the same as the author.
  • themeA central idea or message about life that a literary work explores, such as love, loss, freedom or identity, and what the work suggests about it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Core Concepts

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