Tone

CRAFT TERM

Oct 26

Tone in poetry is the poet’s attitude toward the poem’s speaker, reader, and subject matter, as interpreted by the reader. Often described as a “mood” that pervades the experience of reading the poem, it is created by the poem’s vocabulary, metrical regularity or irregularity, syntax, use of figurative language, and rhyme.

via Poetry Foundation

Example

excerpt from "Fear and Loathing (Comin’ and Goin’)" by Anaïs Duplan:

I come to party, I show up alone,
I feel the beat on my feet, and I’m soloing.
I sing sunshine hits in the club.
Sunshine hits baby. That’s just how I live, lawd—

Read the full poem here.

Prompt

1. Think of an experience where you were somewhere out of your element. Maybe a new friend group, job, school, etc. Or, maybe it was for only a night like a party.

How long did you feel this way?
Did you ever feel entirely comfortable?

2. When you think of this experience, note any emotional shift that pops up, especially in your body. Then take note of the emotion that is opposite.

Happy? Sad?
Confident? Embarrassed?

3. Write a poem that is tonally accurate to your experience.

4. Then, reimagine the poem as its tonal opposite, even if it feels weird.

Think of it as a reimagining of events. Have fun turning a bad experience into a good one or vice versa.

Resource written by:

Featured

Matthew Feinstein

is a neurodivergent poet from Tracy, California. He is currently pursuing an MFA at Randolph College. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in HAD, Heavy Feather Review, Drunk Monkeys, Rejection Letters, and elsewhere. He is the founding editor of Plum Recruit.