Tone vs. Mood
Main DifferenceThe main difference between the mood and the tone is that the tone is how the author feels about what he is writing and the mood of a literary work is how the author makes the reader feel.
Difference Between Tone and Mood
Tone vs. Mood
The tone is the attitude of the author towards a subject whereas mood is the atmosphere or the emotional setting created by a piece of literary work.
Tone vs. Mood
The tone is mainly created by diction and detail on the other hand mood is created by setting, imagery, and diction.
Tone vs. Mood
The tone implies how the author feels towards the subject on the flip side mood directs the feeling of the surroundings and atmosphere the author is describing and making his readers feel.
Tone vs. Mood
The tone is revealed by the author’s choice of words and details on the other hand mood directs a prevailing feeling, or frame of mind, especially at the start of the story.
Tonenoun
(music) A specific pitch.
Moodnoun
A mental or emotional state, composure.
I've been in a bad mood since I dumped my boyfriend.Tonenoun
(music) (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.
Moodnoun
A sullen mental state; a bad mood.
He's in a mood with me today.Tonenoun
(music) (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
Moodnoun
A disposition to do something.
I'm not in the mood for running today.Tonenoun
The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
Moodnoun
A prevalent atmosphere or feeling.
A good politician senses the mood of the crowd.Tonenoun
General character, mood, or trend.
Her rousing speech gave an upbeat tone to the rest of the evening.Moodnoun
Courage, heart, valor; also vim and vigor.
He fought with mood in many a bloody slaught.He tried to lift the fallen tree with all his main and mood, but he couldn't.Tonenoun
(linguistics) The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.
Moodnoun
(grammar) A verb form that depends on how its containing clause relates to the speaker’s or writer’s wish, intent, or assertion about reality.
The most common mood in English is the indicative.Tonenoun
(dated) A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.
Children often read with a tone.Moodnoun
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling;
whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the timehe was in a bad humorTonenoun
(literature) The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.
Moodnoun
the prevailing psychological state;
the climate of opinionthe national mood had changed radically since the last electionTonenoun
(obsolete) State of mind; temper; mood.
Moodnoun
verb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speaker
Tonenoun
The shade or quality of a colour.
Tonenoun
The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.
This picture has tone.Tonenoun
The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ. see also: tonus
Tonenoun
(biology) The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
Tonenoun
(biology) Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
Toneverb
(transitive) to give a particular tone to
Toneverb
(transitive) to change the colour of
Toneverb
(transitive) to make (something) firmer
Toneverb
(intransitive) to harmonize, especially in colour
Toneverb
(transitive) To utter with an affected tone.
Tonepronoun
The one (of two).
Tonenoun
the quality of a person's voice;
he began in a conversational tonehe spoke in a nervous tone of voiceTonenoun
(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages;
the Beijing dialect uses four tonesTonenoun
(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound);
the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovelythe muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meetTonenoun
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people;
the feel of the city excited hima clergyman improved the tone of the meetingit had the smell of treasonTonenoun
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color;
after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wantedTonenoun
a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound;
the singer held the note too longTonenoun
a steady sound without overtones;
they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequenciesTonenoun
the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli;
the doctor tested my tonicityTonenoun
a musical interval of two semitones
Tonenoun
the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author;
the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdrawfrom the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcomeToneverb
utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically;
The students chanted the same slogan over and over againToneverb
of one's speech, varying the pitch
Toneverb
change the color or tone of;
tone a negativeToneverb
change to a color image;
tone a photographic imageToneverb
give a healthy elasticity to;
Let's tone our musclesComparison Chart
| Tone | Mood |
| The tone is the author feeling about what he is writing | The mood of a literary work is how the author makes the reader feel about a subject |
| Reflects | |
| Atmosphere or the emotional setting | The attitude of the author |
| Literary Device | |
| Setting, imagery, and diction | Created by diction and detail |
| Purpose | |
| Conveys author’s feelings towards a subject | Shape the reader's emotional response |
Tone vs. Mood
The tone is the author’s feelings or attitude about the subject matter and characters of the piece of literature. The mood is the feeling a reader gets when he is reading a piece of literature. It is synonymous with the ambiance and atmosphere. The tone is a feeling or manner that the author has meant to set in the story. The mood is the underlying feeling or atmosphere which is perceived by the reader. The tone is the attitude or feelings of the writer towards a subject. The mood is the emotions you feel while reading any written work by any writer. The tone is revealed by the author’s choice of words and details. An author can use a negative or positive tone in his work. The mood directs a prevailing feeling, or frame of mind, especially at the start of the story. Tone may be straightforward, sarcastic, pessimistic, optimistic, etc. Some possible adjectives to define the tone, are seriousness, joyful, straightforward, amusing, angry, suspicious, ironic, and many more. Mood depends on all the choices for setting, images, objects, and details. It emerges a sense of expectation to readers of what is to follow. The tone is the author’s overall attitude toward a subject and is conveyed through his word choice, phrasing and sentence structures. The mood is the emotion evoked by the author. Tone refers to the author’s own feeling about a piece of writing, and he is conveying the same to his readers. Mood refers to the feeling of the atmosphere the author is describing and making you feel sad, happy or angry.
What is Tone?
Tone refers to the feelings of the author about a piece of writing, and he is conveying the same to his readers. The tone in a piece of writing is conveyed through the author’s word choice, phrasing and sentence structures. The feeling, manner, or atmosphere that the author has meant to set in the story is tone. It can be revealed by the author’s or writer’s choice of words and details. A tone can either be a negative tone or positive tone. It emerges a sense of expectation to readers of what is to follow. The tone may be straightforward, sarcastic, pessimistic, optimistic, etc. Some possible adjectives to define the tone, are seriousness, joyful, straightforward, humorous, amusing, angry, suspicious, ironic, and many more. You will come to know what the author’s tone is implying by the words he uses. Tone basically tone reflects the feelings of the writer. All the writings, even official and technical documents convey a tone. Official documents and scientific writings are mostly written in an objective and formal tone. In literature, writers and authors use a variety of tones which are, formal, intimate, playful, serious, solemn, somber, ironic, satirical, condescending, bitter, etc. Authors use different literary devices such as diction, imagery, syntax, details, etc. to convey a particular tone.
Examples
- “I prefer staying here and wait than going into that gloomy room.” The tone of this sentence imposes that the person is scared.
- “I called my friend at his house; his brother said he is not home, but I heard his voice come on the line.” The tone of this sentence reflects that the person is suspicious.
What is Mood?
The mood is the emotions you feel while reading any written work by any writer. In a literary work, the feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader is called the mood. The mood directs a prevailing feeling, or frame of mind, especially at the start of the story. It depends on all the choices for setting, images, objects, and details. The mood of a writing piece can make a reader feel sad, happy or angry. It is synonymous with the ambiance and atmosphere. It is known as the emotional setting or the atmosphere created by a piece of literary work. The mood is established to affect the reader emotionally and psychologically. This establishment of the mood helps to provide a feeling for the narrative. The mood is created by various literary elements such as the setting, the tone of the narrator, and the choice of language. It is intended to shape the reader’s emotional response.
Examples
- “The evening was dark and stormy.” This sentence gives you a scary ‘mood.’
- “The man kicked and threw the poor kitten out of his house.” The sentence creates a mood of anger towards the man or a mood of pity towards the cat.
ConclusionTone and Mood are literary elements embedded in literary works used by the writer to evoke feelings ad perception of the readers.
