Prose Tone Analysis Activity

Examining tone in Nathaniel Hawthorne's prose

Abstract

In this activity, students will uncover textual evidence of tone, whether it is directed at a character or at a setting in which characters interact.  By alternating between independent application and collaborative discussions, students will build consensus around different examples of tone and will construct an accurate definition of tone as a rhetorical device in literature (attitude or emotion toward a person, an issue, a setting, etc.).

Level: High School
Setting: Classroom
Activity Type: Learning Cycle
Discipline: English
Course: AP Language or Literature
Keywords: tone, mood, rhetorical device, literary analysis