what is tone

Tone in literature refers to the writers attitude or feelings about the subject matter and audience. It is conveyed through the narrator's word choice, punctuation, sentence structure, and other literary devices. Tone is not to be confused with mood, which refers to the emotion that the author is trying to evoke from the reader. The tone of a literary work can be formal or informal, positive or negative, lighthearted or dramatic, and can change throughout the piece. It is important to recognize that the speaker or narrator is not the same as the author, and their attitudes and feelings should not be confused with those of the author. In general, the tone of a piece only refers to the attitude of the author if writing is non-literary in nature. By using the right tone in writing, the author can convey their true attitude about a topic to the reader, and signal how the writing should make them feel.