Tone & Mood

The tone reflects the speaker's attitude toward the subject of the work. Mood is the feeling the reader experiences as a result of the tone. Tone and mood provide an emotional painting of a work and are created by the writer's choices. In Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress", his tone is very urgent. The speaker seems to really want the girl and is seemingly begging for her. His pressing demeanor makes the reader feels like he is in dire need of the woman and is dying without her. Whereas in "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" Robert Herrick's speaker is speaking in a tone of admonition and is merely warning the women to marry young. He does not seem to be in a rush and is in no way prompting the women to marry at that moment. He is cautioning the women to marry while they are young because being a "virgin" does not last forever. Moreover in Hamlet, King Claudius' tone truly depicts the type of character Claudius is. When Claudius is telling Hamlet that he should no longer mourn, he speaks in a very narcissistic tone. Claudius always makes it seem as if he is better than anyone, although he is the King he is not at all humble. Claudius' condescending tone also shows how is he as a character. Also, Claudius spoke very nonchalantly of his father's death, through that scene the reader could tell that the King did not have a soul. The Queen also speaks in a commandeering tone and admonishes Hamlet for his continued mourning. Although as the ex-King's wife she should also be mourning. Hamlet speaks in a very sarcastic tone about his mother when he says "good mother," because he does not truly believe the Queen to be good but unmoral. Hamlet sees his mother as a horrible wife and most likely the complete polar opposite of "good mother." The tone and mood are quintessential to every single piece of literature because they both give the reader a sense of liveliness.