Tone Vocabulary

APees (and other interested parties)--

Here is the tone vocabulary to which I alluded in class today. Trash or treasure; nah, just treasure.

Tone Vocabulary

Like the tone of a speaker’s voice, the tone of a work of literature expresses the writer’s feelings. To determine the tone of a passage, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the subject of the passage? Who is its intended audience?
2. What are the most important words in the passage? What connotations do these words have?
3. What feelings are generated by the images of the passage?
4. Are there any hints that the speaker or narrator does not really mean everything he or she says? If any jokes are made, are they lighthearted or bitter?
5. If the narrator were speaking aloud, what would the tone of his or her voice be?

Positive Tone/Attitude Words

Amiable	Consoling	Friendly	Playful
Amused	Content	Happy	Pleasant
Appreciative	Dreamy	Hopeful	Proud
Authoritative	Ecstatic	Impassioned	Relaxed
Benevolent	Elated	Jovial	Reverent
Brave	Elevated	Joyful	Romantic
Calm	Encouraging	Jubilant	Soothing
Cheerful	Energetic	Lighthearted	Surprised
Cheery	Enthusiastic	Loving	Sweet
Compassionate	Excited	Optimistic	Sympathetic
Complimentary	Exuberant	Passionate	Vibrant
Confident	Fanciful	Peaceful	Whimsical

Negative Tone/Attitude Words

Accusing	Choleric	Furious	Quarrelsome
Aggravated	Coarse	Harsh	Shameful
Agitated	Cold	Haughty	Smooth
Angry	Condemnatory	Hateful	Snooty
Apathetic	Condescending	Hurtful	Superficial
Arrogant	Contradictory	Indignant	Surly
Artificial	Critical	Inflammatory	Testy
Audacious	Desperate	Insulting	Threatening
Belligerent	Disappointed	Irritated	Tired
Bitter	Disgruntled	Manipulative	Uninterested
Boring	Disgusted	Obnoxious	Wrathful
Brash	Disinterested	Outraged
Childish	Facetious	Passive

Humor-Irony-Sarcasm Tone/Attitude Words

Amused	Droll	Mock-heroic	Sardonic
Bantering	Facetious	Mocking	Satiric
Bitter	Flippant	Mock-serious	Scornful
Caustic	Giddy	Patronizing	Sharp
Comical	Humorous	Pompous	Silly
Condescending	Insolent	Quizzical	Taunting
Contemptuous	Ironic	Ribald	Teasing
Critical	Irreverent	Ridiculing	Whimsical
Cynical	Joking	Sad	Wry
Disdainful	Malicious	Sarcastic

Sorrow-Fear-Worry Tone/Attitude Words

Aggravated	Embarrassed	Morose	Resigned
Agitated	Fearful	Mournful	Sad
Anxious	Foreboding	Nervous	Serious
Apologetic	Gloomy	Numb	Sober
Apprehensive	Grave	Ominous	Solemn
Concerned	Hollow	Paranoid	Somber
Confused	Hopeless	Pessimistic	Staid
Dejected	Horrific	Pitiful	Upset
Depressed	Horror	Poignant
Despairing	Melancholy	Regretful
Disturbed	Miserable	Remorseful

Neutral Tone/Attitude Words

Admonitory	Dramatic	Intimae	Questioning
Allusive	Earnest	Judgmental	Reflective
Apathetic	Expectant	Learned	Reminiscent
Authoritative	Factual	Loud	Resigned
Baffled	Fervent	Lyrical	Restrained
Callous	Formal	Matter-of-fact	Seductive
Candid	Forthright	Meditative	Sentimental
Ceremonial	Frivolous	Nostalgic	Serious
Clinical	Haughty	Objective	Shocking
Consoling	Histrionic	Obsequious	Sincere
Contemplative	Humble	Patriotic	Unemotional
Conventional	Incredulous	Persuasive	Urgent
Detached	Informative	Pleading	Vexed
Didactic	Inquisitive	Pretentious	Wistful
Disbelieving	Instructive	Provocative	Zealous

Underclass Picture Day: Airheadedness

I will e-mail all of my sophomores ASAP as a reminder, but if you check this for updates more regularly than e-mail, here goes:

Due to my airheadedness, I forgot to update Underclass Picture Day in this space. It is TOMORROW. I know you all probably rec'd a ConnectEd phone call about it, but in the event you didn't, a few tips:

1. I distributed the photo forms in class on Tuesday. You don't have to buy photos in order to be in the yearbook, but if your parents want to immortalize your sophomore adorable-ness, this is their opportunity.

2. Please don't wear bright red or orange, since the pictures will be in COLOR this year in the yearbook! And avoid flourescent greens and (it goes without saying) inappropriate writing on your shirt, face, or headgear.

3. After I take roll in first and second period, I will walk each group over to the gym for the photos. Remember the rule for leaving the classroom, like on Textbook Acquisition Day: Silence in the 300 hall. Scamper in the courtyard. Silence in the gym. Scamper back across the courtyard. Silence in the 300 hall. (You might not want to scamper pre-photo if you are prone to sweatiness.)

Happy Picture Day!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Congratulations for making it through the second week of school! Today, hopefully, the sophys will get lockers--if not, we will retrofit my back closet to make festive sophomore lockers for each of you. Anything is possible with plywood.

Don't forget that you have a three-day weekend to celebrate! I will be in West Palm Beach visiting friends, but if you absolutely have a college essay-related emergency, I will have my laptop and will check messages intermittently.

Sophys: Author of the Day is children's author and poet Angela Shelf Madearis, followed by a vocabulary quiz on words 21-40 and a Title Parade for our revised Stranger papers. (Again--some of you have an extended deadline due to schedule changes.) Afterwards, FCAT Practice Passage #1 on the Galapagos Islands. Truly fascinating.

APees: In-class writing on physiognomy in The Awakening, followed by some introductory information on Oedipus Rex. ORex is in your literary anthology AND I have some paperbacks for those of you who prefer to carry your ancient Greek literature in your pocket. You MUST have this play read by 9/11/09. It's very, very short. Wait until you see my award-winning drawings to accompany the explanation of the play. Sphinxie is about to be back in the house.

If you haven't yet picked up your lit anthology from the Media Center, please do so ASAP--and please remember, APees, that the replacement cost for each book is 95.00. Do not lose, damage, or deface these books. Do not use them to tempt your dog. Do not use them to prop up an old leaking aquarium. LOVE YOUR BOOKS.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Sophys: Author of the Day is Stephen King (yes, that one--he is awesome, prolific, and insightful) and our lesson today is about existential philosophy after we share our awesome homework from last night. Camus is merely one of many existential thinkers of the early 20th century, but I'd like you to think about The Stranger in more of a broad context before we move on to the next assignment. Again, for those of you planning ahead: Our next outside reading is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas; I have copies in the media center on file for you if you'd like to check one out with your ID, but if you want to buy your own please get the abridged version. Let me clarify--I am not encouraging an easy shortcut, but merely recognizing that Dumas edited his own text so many times that the unabridged is really bloated with endless descriptions of the French countryside. Which is all well and good, but I'd rather you read something more vigorously paced.

APees: Syntactical analysis of a passage from Gatsby, followed by thought questions on The Awakening. If we have additional time, we can go over the two poems--particularly the moving "Magnolias in Snow."

Travel meeting is tonight at 7 in room 313. Totally optional.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sorry about the delay in posting--I was reading a book on efficiency and lost track of the time. I was so wrapped up in learning how to be efficient and not procrastinate that I procrastinated on updating my assignment blog. Since the sophomores are learning all about irony this week, this little blip on the radar is strangely appropriate, but I'm still embarrassed to be so off-schedule. A thousand apologies. Well, that and I've been grading myself stupid with focus papers, make-up tests, and multiple choice practice sessions.

On to the lessons for tomorrow!!!

Sophys: Our Author of the Day resumes tomorrow with the incredible Toni Morrison, one of my favorite writers. Afterwards, we will go over the expectations for the final copy of the Stranger paper which is due Friday for many of you--and to that end, I have a neato handout to give you called Guidelines for Solid Writing. After we go over this, I'd like to go over some of this week's vocabulary words--#21-40 on your literary terms list, and assign AWESOME homework that I meant to assign yesterday.

APees: Yesterday, I watched in amazement as some of you twitched in fear as you took your first multiple choice practice session. Never fear! I will give you back your scantrons so you can monitor your scores, and then we will go over the two prose passages. One of the passages is reprinted for you to annotate as we go. It should be a fun time for everyone!