LITERARY DEVICES:

TONE, MOOD AND FORESHADOWING

Employing literary devices, which

include figures of speech, also adds
flavor and helps readers determine the
purpose of the author.
 TONE

• This refers to the attitude or approach of the author or

characters that gives the general atmosphere created in
a story. By determining the tone, a reader may have an
idea of the author’s opinion on a particular theme
determined in a literary work.

EXAMPLE:
The author emphasizes the horrors of a corrupt
society.
 J U S T A S TO N E O F V O I C E C A N E X P R E S S S E N T I M E N T
A N D E M O T I O N I N S P E A K I N G , TO N E C A N D O T H E S A M E
IN WRITING. HERE ARE SOME COMMON EXAMPLES OF
TO N E U S E D B Y W R I T E R S TO C O N V E Y F E E L I N G :

•regretful •inspirational
•joyful •sympathetic
•envious •ironic
•persuasive •conflicted
•dry •fearful
•playful •reverent
•assertive •nervous
•pessimistic •anticipating
•petulant •derisive
•facetious
 MOOD

• While tone is the author’s attitude or

approach toward his/her work, mood is the
emotion or emotions provoked in the reader.
If the author emphasizes the horrors of a
corrupt society, the reader may feel bothered
or scared as he/she reads the literary work.
 DIFFERENCE OF THE TWO

• Mood is what you feel from consuming a

piece of art.
• Tone is what the artist feels about the subject
matter of their art.
 MOOD EXPLAINED
G E N E R A L LY S P E A K I N G , A N Y W O R D T H AT C A N B E U S E D T O D E S C R I B E E M O T I O N C A N
B E U S E D T O D E S C R I B E T H E M O O D O F A S T O RY, P O E M , O R O T H E R P I E C E O F W R I T I N G .
H E R E A R E S O M E W O R D S T H AT A R E C O M M O N LY USED TO DESCRIBE MOOD:

• Cheerful • Ominous
• Reflective • Calm
• Gloomy • Lighthearted
• Humorous • Hopeful
• Melancholy • Angry
• Idyllic • Fearful
• Whimsical • Tense
• Romantic • Lonely
• Mysterious
 FORESHADOWING

• These are hints about events that will

happen later in a narrative. Writers
deliberately “plant” objects or events
and use them again as essential tools
for the story to move on.
W R I T E R S A N D S TO RY T E L L E R S U T I L I Z E R E C U R R I N G   S Y M B O L S,   M O T I F S,
AND OTHER ELEMENTS AS FORESHADOWING. READERS AND
A U D I E N C E S O F T E N R E C O G N I Z E T H E S E E L E M E N T S A S H I N T S O F W H AT
M I G H T B E TO   C O M E I N  A S TO RY. H E R E A R E S O M E C O M M O N E X A M P L E S
OF ELEMENTS USED AS FORESHADOWING:

• Dialogue, such as “I have a bad feeling about this”

• Symbols, such as blood, certain colors, types of birds,

weapons
• Weather motifs, such as storm clouds, wind, rain, clearing
skies
• Character reactions, such as apprehension, curiosity, secrecy
• Time and/or season, such as midnight, dawn, spring, winter
• Settings, such as graveyard, battlefield, isolated path, river