TONE V/S MOOD

Tone: Is the author’s attitude towards the writing (his characters, the situation) and the readers. A work of writing can have more than one tone. An example of tone could be both serious and humorous. Tone is set by the setting, choice of vocabulary and other details. Words to Define Tone:: Amused, Humorous, Pessimistic, Angry, Informal, Playful, Cheerful, Ironic, Pompous, Horror, Light, Sad, Clear, Matter-of-fact, Serious, Formal, Resigned, Suspicious, Gloomy, Optimistic, Witty.

Mood: Is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words. It may be the same, or it may change from situation to situation. Words to define Mood: Fanciful, Melancholy, Frightening, Mysterious, Frustrating, Romantic, Gloomy, Sentimental, Happy, Sorrowful, Joyful, Suspenseful.

We could sumarrise that the difference is that the mood is the overall atmosphere that all characters in the story make, and tone is a certain atitude a character took during a certain moment or speech.