Tone Vocabulary Like the tone of a speaker’s voice, the tone of a work of literature expresses the writer’s feelings. To determine the tone of a passage, ask yourself the following questions: 1. What is the subject of the passage? Who is the intended audience? 2. What are the most important words in the passage? What connotations do these words have? 3. What feelings are generated by the images of the passage? 4. Are there any hints that the speaker or narrator does not really mean everything he or she says? If any jokes are made, are they lighthearted or bitter? 5. If the narrator were speaking aloud, what would the tone of his or her voice be? Positive Tone/Attitude Words Amiable Amused Appreciative Authoritative Benevolent Brave Calm Cheerful Cheery Compassionate Complimentary Confident Consoling Content Dreamy Ecstatic Elated Elevated Encouraging Energetic Enthusiastic Excited Exuberant Fanciful Friendly Happy Hopeful Impassioned Jovial Joyful Jubilant Lighthearted Loving Optimistic Passionate Peaceful Playful Pleasant Proud Relaxed Reverent Romantic Soothing Surprised Sweet Sympathetic Vibrant Whimsical Negative Tone/Attitude Words Accusing Aggravated Agitated Angry Apathetic Arrogant Artificial Audacious Belligerent Bitter Boring Brash Childish Choleric Coarse Cold Condemnatory Condescending Contradictory Critical Desperate Disappointed Disgruntled Disgusted Disinterested Facetious Furious Harsh Haughty Hateful Hurtful Indignant Inflammatory Insulting Irritated Manipulative Obnoxious Outraged Passive Quarrelsome Shameful Smooth Snooty Superficial Surly Testy Threatening Tired Uninterested Wrathful Humor-Irony-Sarcasm Tone/Attitude Words Amused Bantering Bitter Caustic Comical Condescending Droll Facetious Flippant Giddy Humorous Insolent Mock-heroic Mocking Mock-serious Patronizing Pompous Quizzical Sardonic Satiric Scornful Sharp Silly Taunting
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Tone VocabularyLike the tone of a speaker’s voice, the tone of a work of literature expresses the writer’s feelings.
To determine the tone of a passage, ask yourself the following questions:1. What is the subject of the passage? Who is the intended audience?2. What are the most important words in the passage? What connotations do these words have?3. What feelings are generated by the images of the passage?4. Are there any hints that the speaker or narrator does not really mean everything he or she says? If any jokes are
made, are they lighthearted or bitter?5. If the narrator were speaking aloud, what would the tone of his or her voice be?
Language Words-Used to describe the force or quality of the entire piece
Like word choice, the language of a passage has control over tone. Consider language to be the entire body of words used in a text, not simply isolated bits of diction, imagery, or detail. For example, an invitation to a graduation might use formal language, whereas a biology text would use scientific and clinical language.
Different from tone, these words describe the force or quality of the diction, images, and details AS A WHOLE. These words qualify how the work is written.
1 Abstract Theoretical without reference to specifics2 Absurd Contrary to logic, but sometimes artistically viable3 Affected Assuming a false manner or attitude to impress others4 Ambiguous Having two or more possible meanings5 Analytical Inclined to examine things by studying their content or parts6 Anecdotal Involving short narratives of interesting events7 Angry Resentful, enraged8 Archaic In the style of an earlier period9 Austere Stern, strict, frugal, unadorned10 Banal Pointless and uninteresting11 Baroque Elaborate, grotesque, and ornamental12 Bizarre Unusually strange or odd13 Bland Undisturbing, unemotional, and uninteresting 14 Bombastic Pretentious and pompous15 Breezy Quick-paced, but sometimes superficial16 Childish Immature (when applied to adults or to writing)17 Cinematic Having the qualities of a motion picture18 Classical Formal, enduring, and standard, adhering to certain traditional methods19 Colloquial Characteristic or ordinary and informal conversation20 Comic Humorous, funny, light (there are many levels of comedy)21 Concise Using very few words to express a great deal22 Confessional Characterized by personal admissions of faults23 Contemptuous Expressing contempt or disdain24 Convincing Persuasive, believable, plausible25 Convoluted Very complicated or involved (as in the case of sentences with many
qualifiers, phrases, and clauses)26 Crepuscular Having to do with twilight or shadowy areas (as in the darker and more
hidden parts of human experience)27 Cynical A tendency to believe that all human behavior is selfish and opportunistic28 Decadent Marked by a decay in morals, values, and artistic standards29 Depressing Sad, gloomy (without any redeeming qualities or true tragedy)30 Detached Disinterested, unbiased, emotionally disconnected31 Discursive Moving pointlessly from one subject to another; rambling32 Dreamlike Having the characteristics of a dream33 Earthy Realistic, rustic, coarse, unrefined, instinctive, animalize34 Effeminate Soft, delicate, unmanly35 Elegiac Expressing sorrow or lamentation (elegy is a mournful poem)36 Emotional Much given to strong feelings37 Epistolary Involving letters38 Erudite Learned, scholarly39 Euloglatic Involving formal praise in speech or writing, usually in honor of someone
dead40 Evocative Having the ability to call forth memories or other response41 Expressionistic Stressing the subjective and symbolic in art and literature42 Facetious Amusing, but light, unserious, frivolous43 Farcical Humorous in a light way, comedy with high exaggeration44 Fatalistic Believing that everything that happens is destined and therefore, out of
the hands of the individual45 Flamboyant Conspicuously bold or colorful46 Fluid Flowing smoothly47 Iconoclastic Inclined to attach cherished beliefs and traditions48 Impressionistic Inclined to use subjective impressions rather than objective reality49 Ironic Characterized by an unexpected turn of evens, often the opposite of
what was intended50 Irreverent Showing disrespect for things that are usually respected or revered51 Journalistic Characterized by the kind of language used in journalism52 Lyrical Intense, spontaneous, musical53 Metaphorical Having the characteristics of melodrama in which emotions and plot are
exaggerated and characterization is shallow54 Mournful Feeling or expressing grief (certain literary forms are devoted to the
expression of grief, such as elegies)55 Mundane Ordinary or common, as in everyday matters ("His mind was filled with
mundane matters")56 Naturalistic Tending to present things in art and literature as they appear in nature or
actuality57 Nostalgic Inclined to long for or dwell on things of the past; sentimental58 Objective Uninfluenced by personal feelings; seeing things from the outside, not
subjectively59 Ominous Indicating or threatening evil or danger as dark clouds indicate that a
storm is coming60 Parody A satirical limitation of something serious; such as a comic takeoff of
Romeo and Juliet (the parody must have enough elements of the original for it to be recognized)
61 Persuasive Able to get a person to do something or to agree with one by an appeal to reason or other convincing devices
62 Philosophical Interested in the study of basic truths of existence and reality63 Pious Having or displaying a reverence for God and religion; sometimes used
pejoratively, when the display is excessive and overly righteous64 Poetical Having the qualities of poetry, such as pleasing rhythms or images65 Pompous Displaying one's importance in an exaggerated way; sometimes this
quality is found in comic characters66 Primitive Simple and crude (Primitivism in the arts tries to make use of a
sophisticated way of what seems simple and crude)67 Prurient Preoccupied with lewd and lustful thoughts68 Psychological Having to do with the human mind and human behavior69 Puritanical Strict or severe in matters of morality70 Realistic Inclined to represent things as they really are71 Rhythmic Characterized by certain patterns, beats, or accents (as in dancing,
music, poetry)72 Romantic Having feelings or thought of love, but when associated with nineteenth
century literature or any such literature it suggests a style that emphasizes freedom of form, imagination, and emotion
73 Sardonic Mocking, taunting, bitter, scornful, sarcastic74 Satirical Using sarcasm and irony, often humorously to expose human folly75 Sensuous Taking pleasure in things that appeal to the senses; sensual suggests a
strong preoccupation with such things; especially sexual pleasures76 Stark Plain, harsh, completely (as in "stark raving mad"); simple or bare, when
applied to style, sometimes even bleak or grim77 Subjective Relying on one's own inner impressions, as opposed to being objective78 Surrealistic Stressing imagery and the subconscious and sometimes distorting
ordinary ideas in order to arrive at artistic truths79 Terse Effectively concise, brief80 Trite Stale, worn out, as in trite expressions81 Urbane Sophisticated, socially polished82 Victorian Prudish, stuffy, and puritanical (qualities associated with Queen
Victoria's reign)83 Whimsical Inclined to be playful, humorous, or fanciful84 Wordy Using more words than necessary to say what you have to say
