Previous
Style
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
Key Examples in Sons and Lovers
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Sons and Lovers is generally authoritative and sympathetic. In the novel's opening, the narrator recounts the history of Bestwood—the mining village where the Morels live and where most of the events in the novel take place—using a formal, knowledgable tone.
The narrator's tone in the novel is also often empathetic, stirring the reader's compassion for characters. This can be seen in the below passage from Chapter 1, when the narrator describes Gertrude Morel's emotional state and living conditions:
Mrs. Morel was alone, but she was used to it. Her son and her little girl slept upstairs; so it seemed, her home was there behind her, fixed and stable. But she felt wretched with the coming child. The world seemed a dreary place, where nothing else would happen for her—at least until William grew up. But for herself, nothing but this dreary endurance—till the children grew up. And the children! She could not afford to have this third. She did not want it. The father was serving beer in a public house, swilling himself drunk. She despised him, and was tied to him. This coming child was too much for her. If it were not for William and Annie, she was sick of it, the struggle with poverty and ugliness and meanness.
Related Themes:
