TONE/MOOD

The tone and mood of a written work directly affects the reader's interpretation of an author's work. A narrator's diction influences the tone of a poem, which therefore allows his message to be more easily exposed to the reader. In Ulysses by Tennyson , for example, Odysseus uses words like "idle" and "empty" to illustrate his unemotional and unmotivated feelings. He feels as though he no longer has a purpose in life and unravels his frustration throughout the poem. His depressing and empty words convey the tone to the reader; melancholy and sad. As a result, the tone makes the poem much stronger and much easier for one to relate to.