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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