The Rover
by Aphra Behn

The Rover: Tone 1 key example

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
Prologue
Explanation and Analysis:

The play's tone can be gleaned from the prologue, which would have been delivered to the audience before the rise of the curtain, and epilogue, which would be delivered before before the curtain's fall. In Restoration comedies, one of the actors would temporarily abandon their role to deliver the prologue and/or epilogue, which supposedly existed beyond the bounds of the play's action. As such, the monologue's writer—who wasn't always the writer of the play—would to create a moment of intimate and authentic engagement between actor and audience, as well as between dramatist and reader. At the same time, prologues and epilogues allowed the dramatist and actors to tease their spectators, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to frankly acknowledge and address the people in the room.

Act 5, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis:

The play's tone can be gleaned from the prologue, which would have been delivered to the audience before the rise of the curtain, and epilogue, which would be delivered before before the curtain's fall. In Restoration comedies, one of the actors would temporarily abandon their role to deliver the prologue and/or epilogue, which supposedly existed beyond the bounds of the play's action. As such, the monologue's writer—who wasn't always the writer of the play—would to create a moment of intimate and authentic engagement between actor and audience, as well as between dramatist and reader. At the same time, prologues and epilogues allowed the dramatist and actors to tease their spectators, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to frankly acknowledge and address the people in the room.

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