In literature tone is the emotional coloring, or the emotional meaning. Of the work, and is an extremely important part of the full meaning. In spoken language it is indicated by the inflection of the speaker's voice. The emotional meaning of a statement may vary widely according to the tone of voice with which it is uttered; the tone may be ecstatic, incredulous, despairing, resigned.
In poetry, we cannot really understand a poem unless we have accurately sensed whether the attitude it manifests is playful or solemn, mocking or reverent, calm or excited. In the spoken language, the speaker's voice can guide us to the tone. But the correct determination of tone in literature is a much more delicate matter. Almost all the elements of poetry help to indicate its tone: connotation, imagery, and metaphor; irony and under statement; rhythm, sentence construction, and formal pattern. According to Harry Shaw (Dictionary of Literary Terms), tone can be determined by tree points:
1 An author's attitude or focus point towards his subject. In this concern the tone can be realistic, somber, depressing, romantic and adventurous.
2 The devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work. In this sense, the tone of a poem consists of its alliteration, assonance, consonance, diction, imagery, meter, thyme, symbolism, etc.
3 The musical quality in language. In this sense, the tone depends upon the sounds of words, their arrangement and their sequence.
In poetry, we cannot really understand a poem unless we have accurately sensed whether the attitude it manifests is playful or solemn, mocking or reverent, calm or excited. In the spoken language, the speaker's voice can guide us to the tone. But the correct determination of tone in literature is a much more delicate matter. Almost all the elements of poetry help to indicate its tone: connotation, imagery, and metaphor; irony and under statement; rhythm, sentence construction, and formal pattern. According to Harry Shaw (Dictionary of Literary Terms), tone can be determined by tree points:
1 An author's attitude or focus point towards his subject. In this concern the tone can be realistic, somber, depressing, romantic and adventurous.
2 The devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work. In this sense, the tone of a poem consists of its alliteration, assonance, consonance, diction, imagery, meter, thyme, symbolism, etc.
3 The musical quality in language. In this sense, the tone depends upon the sounds of words, their arrangement and their sequence.