High School Tone Words - English - English 9



Understanding Tone

Studying and describing tone require great alertness because your understanding will depend largely on your ability to make inferences from the work you are reading (sometimes this is called “reading between the lines”). Your analysis of tone is, in effect, your analysis of the author’s mind at work, and through this analysis you can become aware of the vitality of literature(the creativity of the author’s mind as seen in his or her words. Reading a work of literature without perceiving its tone is like watching a speaker on television with the sound turned off; without tone you can guess at meaning but cannot understand it fully.

Writing Themes about Literature, 5th ed.

Using the acronym DIDLS helps students remember the basic elements of tone that they should consider when evaluating prose or poetry. Diction, images, details, language, and sentence structure all help to create the author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject and audience.

DICTION: The important and individual words the author chooses to use.

IMAGES: The word pictures created by groups of words. These images appeal to the senses.

DETAILS: Often confused with images, these are more precisely facts and are notable not only for what is

included but also for what is purposely omitted.

LANGUAGE: This term describes the characteristics of the body of words used; terms such as slang, clinical,

scholarly, and jargon denote language.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE: Expressed in its most elemental form, this notes that short sentences are often

emotional or assertive and that longer sentences move toward more reasonable or even scholarly intent.

According to Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, style is the individual manner in which a writer expresses his or her ideas. It is created by the author’s particular diction, syntax, and arrangement of ideas.

AP English 11 Tone Words[1]

The following is a comprehensive list of words that can be used to describe tone. Learn the meanings of words with which you are unfamiliar. The more terms you know, the more precise you can be in discussing/ describing/identifying tone.

abashed

abhorring

accusatory

*acerbic

admiring

adoring

allusive

*ambiguous

*ambivalent

antagonistic

anxious

*apathetic

*apologetic

apprehensive

audacious

*authoritative

baffled

*bantering

belligerent

*bemused

benevolent

bewildered

*biting

bitter

blithe

blunt

brisk

*brusque

burlesque

*candid

casual

celebratory

ceremonial

cheery

choleric

*clinical

colloquial

*commanding

compassionate

complimentary

conceited

*conciliatory

condemnatory

*condescending

confident

confused

*contemptuous

contented

*contentious

conversational

critical

curt

*cynical

derisive

derogatory

desolate

despairing

desperate

*detached

diabolic

*didactic

*diffident

*direct

disappointed

disbelieving

disdainful

disgusted

disrespectful

dramatic

dreary

earnest

ebullient

ecstatic

*effusive

elated

elegiac

*elevated

*eloquent

*empathetic

encouraging

enraged

eulogistic

euphoric

evasive

exhilarated

expectant

exuberant

*facetious

*factual

fanciful

fatalistic

fearful

fervent

flippant

forceful

foreboding

*formal

forthright

frantic

frivolous

frustrated

ghoulish

giddy

gleeful

gloomy

grave

grim

harsh

*haughty

hilarious

holier-than-thou

*hollow

hopeful

hopeless

horrific

hostile

*impartial

impatient

*incisive

*incredulous

*indifferent

indignant

inflammatory

informal

informative

insecure

insipid

insistent

insolent

instructive

intimate

*introspective

ironic

*irreverent

jocund

joking

jovial

joyful

joyous

*laudatory

*learned

lethargic

lighthearted

lively

*lofty

ludicrous

lugubrious

lyrical

matter-of-fact

meditative

melancholic

mirthful

mock-heroic

mocking

mock-serious

modest

*moralistic

mournful

mysterious

*nostalgic

*objective

ominous

optimistic

outraged

*outspoken

paranoid

passionate

pathetic

*patronizing

*pedantic

*pensive

pessimistic

petty

placid

playful

poignant

*pompous

powerful

*pretentious

proud

*provocative

psychotic

questioning

reassuring

*reflective

reminiscent

resigned

respectful

restrained

*reticent

reverent

risible

romantic

sanguine

sarcastic

*sardonic

satiric

*scholarly

scornful

seductive

self-assured

self-deprecating

sentimental

serene

severe

shocked

shocking

sinister

*skeptical

sly

solemn

somber

*speculative

sprightly

stable

stately

stern

stolid

straightforward

*strident

subdued

suspicious

sympathetic

*taunting

tender

tense

*terse

thoughtful

threatening

*timorous

tragic

tranquil

turgid

unambiguous

uncaring

uncertain

unconcerned

understated

unsympathetic

*urgent

venerative

vexed

vibrant

violent

*vitriolic

whimsical

*wistful

worshipful

wrathful

*wry

Diction Activity

Read each pair of sentences, note the tone of each sentence, and tell how diction affects the tone of each sentence.

| | |

|1. The proud officer accepted the medal. |5. The algebra problem befuddled the students. |

|The arrogant officer accepted the medal. |The algebra problem confused the students. |

| | |

|2. The students chuckled when Jack came into the room. |6. His curious behavior puzzled us. |

|The students snickered when Jack came into the room. |His bizarre behavior puzzled us. |

| | |

|3. The plump waitress brought us our dinner. |7. Her speech stunned the audience. |

|The obese waitress brought us our dinner. |Her diatribe stunned the audience. |

| | |

|4. The soccer enthusiast cheered the team. |8. His unkempt appearance was not appropriate for the ceremony. |

|The soccer fanatic cheered the team. |His slovenly appearance was not appropriate for the ceremony. |

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[1] Compiled from a variety of sources.

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