| Mood |
Study Guide
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
Define mood Identify the mood in selected works Mood is the emotions that you feel while you are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad, others joyful, still others, angry. The main purpose for some poems is to set a mood. How does the following passage from o. Henry's short story, "After Twenty Years," make you feel?
The policemen on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely ten o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh depeopled the streets.
What is the mood in the following poem?
Madam and the Rent Man
The rent man knocked.
He said, Howdy-do?
I said, What
Can I do for you?
He said, You know
Your rent is due.
I said, Listen
Before I’d pay
I’d go to Hades
And rot away!
The sink is broke,
The water don’t run,
And you ain’t done a thing
You promised to’ve done.
Back window’s cracked,
Kitchen floor squeaks,
There’s rats in the cellar,
And the attic leaks.
He said, Madam,
It’s not up to me.
I’m just the agent,
Don’t you see?
I said, Naturally,
You pass the buck.
If it’s money you want
You’re out of luck.
He said, Madam,
I ain’t pleased!
I said, Neither am I.
So we agrees.
Check out the same poem on the TONE page to see how mood is different than tone.