Prose & StyleFoundational
Tone
The emotional posture of the prose toward its subject.
Principle
Tone is what the prose feels about what the prose is saying.
Takeaways
- Tone can be earnest, ironic, mournful, comic, distant, intimate.
- Tonal whiplash without intent reads as instability.
- Tonal shift with intent reads as movement.
Overview
Tone is the writer's or narrator's stance toward the subject as conveyed in the prose. It is distinct from voice (the manner) and mood (the reader's resulting feeling), though they interact closely.
Examples
- A funeral rendered in dry comedy without dishonouring the dead.
- A romance held at ironic distance until the last chapter relents.
- A horror story whose tone refuses ever to break.