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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
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:
The distinctive voice of the omniscient narrator of The Mayor of Casterbridge sets the novel's tone, as the narrator tells a complicated, tangled, and eventful story in which characters are blown around by fate and happenstance. Hardy’s narrator is highly present in the story, setting a sympathetic and didactic tone for the book. The voice of his narrator reflects the moral system at the center of the novel, where the good are rewarded and the bad punished (though not always to a fair degree). At times, the narrative tone is almost elegiac and mournful, as the narrator seems to bemoan the cruelty of fate and the regrettable consequences of characters' actions.
