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Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Tone Mind Map
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Key Examples in Macbeth
Act 1, scene 2
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Macbeth undergoes several changes throughout the play, but there is always an undercurrent of gloom.
Many scenes that occur just before or after episodes of battle have a cheerfully morbid tone, with characters pairing violent imagery with a triumphant attitude. In Act 1, Scene 2, for example, a captain gleefully describes how Macbeth disemboweled and subsequently beheaded the rebel Macdonwald, news that the supposedly saintly Duncan receives with joy:
Captain: For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like Valor’s minion, carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,
And fixed his head upon our battlements.Duncan: O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!
Related Themes:
Act 4, scene 3
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Macbeth undergoes several changes throughout the play, but there is always an undercurrent of gloom.
Many scenes that occur just before or after episodes of battle have a cheerfully morbid tone, with characters pairing violent imagery with a triumphant attitude. In Act 1, Scene 2, for example, a captain gleefully describes how Macbeth disemboweled and subsequently beheaded the rebel Macdonwald, news that the supposedly saintly Duncan receives with joy:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Captain: For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like Valor’s minion, carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,
And fixed his head upon our battlements.Duncan: O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!
Related Themes:
Act 5, scene 3
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Macbeth undergoes several changes throughout the play, but there is always an undercurrent of gloom.
Many scenes that occur just before or after episodes of battle have a cheerfully morbid tone, with characters pairing violent imagery with a triumphant attitude. In Act 1, Scene 2, for example, a captain gleefully describes how Macbeth disemboweled and subsequently beheaded the rebel Macdonwald, news that the supposedly saintly Duncan receives with joy:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Captain: For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like Valor’s minion, carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,
And fixed his head upon our battlements.Duncan: O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!
Related Themes:
