Mood
The Moonstone
by Wilkie Collins

The Moonstone: Mood 1 key example

Definition of Mood

The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:

The mood of The Moonstone is intense, emotional, and provocative throughout. This is not unusual for a novel of its genre, as sensation fiction published in serial formats was written to make the reader feel things intensely. This would, authors like Collins believed, keep an audience rapt as the stories unfolded. Further, there are very fews lows in this book. Each "narrative" keeps the reader in intense suspense, as perspectives shift and the reader's sympathies change. As the various currents of plot gain speed and strength, the reader is provoked into a series of heightened emotional states. The novel zigzags wildly between romance and tragedy, crime and punishment, sin and forgiveness, and the reader's mood is forced to follow suit.