Things You'll Need:
- Fictional text (book or passage)
- Drawing materials
- Paper
- Pen or pencil
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Step 1
Find a scene or passage in the fictional text to analyze and read it through out loud.
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Step 2
Write down the sensory feelings you have while reading. Are you angry, left in suspense, or curious?
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Step 3
Describe the setting. How are the objects and people described? Try to draw an image of what you read.
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Step 4
Write "Mood" at the top of this page. Mood is the term used to describe the feeling of a piece of literature. When you read a novel and get a feeling of suspense or mystery, this is the mood you are uncovering.
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Step 5
On another piece of paper write down what you think the author thinks about the characters or subject in the story. How does the author treat these elements? Are they sarcastic, pessimistic or hopeful?
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Step 6
Write "Tone" at the top of this page. Tone is the word used to describe the author's opinion about the story, character or events. Tone can be found in fiction and non-fiction by looking at the way the author describes things and what words they choose.
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Step 7
Practice! The key to learning is repetition. Try to find the mood and tone of different pieces of fiction and non-fiction. Keep practicing until you know you've got it.
Comments
Wackford said
on 12/7/2008 Heather - I don't know you and you are probably way more intelligent than me but I would refer you to step 4 of your instructions and suggest that 'the feeling of a piece of literature' is just a little bit vague. I teach 'Higher Grade' English in a reasonably competent Secondary school in Central Scotland and I know that my students would need clarification on such a general comment. Don't get annoyed with my observation - I find this concept very difficult to teach.