The mood of this play is extremely tense, with a sense of doom that looms overhead for the duration of the drama. Within the first few lines of the play’s opening scene, Ford introduces the tragic predicament of his antihero protagonist Giovanni and the immoral, lustful love he holds for his sister Annabella. Thus, from the very outset of 'Tis Pity She’s a Whore, the playwright ensures that the audience is aware that the outcome of this play cannot possibly be a happy one.
As the play goes on, the Friar offers warnings that grow increasingly dire—and as each of these warnings go unheeded and ignored by their recipients the audience’s tension grows too, while they wait for the other proverbial shoe to drop. Although Ford intersperses a few moments of levity through the presence of comedic characters like Poggio and Bergetto, these instances only serve to highlight the overall gloom that characterizes the play. Likewise, Ford uses dramatic and situational irony to emphasize the tragic atmosphere of the play. As this incestuous, violent drama unfolds, the inevitability of Ford’s horrific conclusion grows heavier in weight, until all that is left for the audience to feel is a sense of grief and cynicism.
