GRE General

Sub Topics

Reading Comprehension - How to Infer Intended Meaning Get The Gist of an Essay Improve And Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension - How to Answer Questions About Literature Reading Comprehension - Reading Strategies Using Visualization What Are Connotation And Denotation?Understanding Tone And Mood in a Reading Passage Structure in Writing And How Does it Affect Meaning?Close Reading vs Big Picture Reading How to Use Text to Guide Your Interpretation

Main Topics

Lessons and MCQs

Select Test Select Question Types

GRE General: Reading Comprehension - How to Analyze a Literary Passage
Understanding Tone And Mood in a Reading Passage

In this video lesson, we will define the literary terms tone and mood used in Reading Comprehension of the GRE. We will then discuss how to identify each of them, as well as how to identify them in small reading passages.

Understanding Tone And Mood in a Reading Passage

For full lecture refer to the video

Read the Story

It was a dark and stormy night. I sat alone in the old, dilapidated house staring out the window. The sky was black, the wind was loud, and the rain slammed against the broken windowpane. I shut my eyes, remembering my earlier visit, and I felt so embarrassed and angry. When I opened them, the lightning bolt flashed and lit up the room once more. I had to get out of the house; I had to hide. No one could know my horrible mistake. I opened the door, took a deep breath, and ran into the cold and rain.

What feelings did you have while listening to the previous story? What made you feel this way?

Mood

Mood is the feeling you get while reading a story. This could be happiness, sadness, darkness, anger, suspicion, loneliness, or even excitement. You can think of mood as the atmosphere of the story.

Tone?

Tone is the author's attitude toward a subject. The tone can be identified by looking at word choices and phrases. Take time to look at the language. An author uses words to create meaning. For example, a dog described as a lovable puppy is positive, but one described as a fierce fighter is more frightening.