Tone and Mood

The tone and mood of a literary piece are quintessential in understanding the author's message. In To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman, the speaker's tone is more celebratory than mourning which helps the reader comprehend that the athlete dying young now is better than him suffering because he lived past his prime. Similarly, Maxine Kumin's poem, Woodchucks, demonstrates a light and humorous tone while describing a tragic event. Dark humor allows for the reader to reevaluate his or her views on death on a small scale (killing woodchucks) or on a grander scale (genocide). Diction contrasting with tone and mood makes the message more significant.

Diction

Diction plays a pivotal role in communicating verbally the message each character wants to convey or conceal. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses diction to portray Hamlet as a complex and mad character.  "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.” (2.2, 327-331)." Here he admits that he only acts mad in certain circumstances which can confuse and baffle the people around him because they can't understand what he really means through his choice of language. 

Figurative Language & Imagery

Figurative language and imagery work hand-in-hand to entice the reader's five senses. In the poem, "Fast Break", Edward Hirsch use of literary devices allows for one to see, hear, feel, taste, and even smell the players play a fierce game of basket ball. For example, the first line of the poem, "A hook shot kisses the rim" personifies the shot while letting the reader imagine hearing the sound the ball makes going through the hoop by using plosive language (or repetition of the k sound). Other words such as "floating, scissoring, and gliding" add a visual sense to the poem. A similar poem to "Fast Break" is Yusef Komunyakaa's poem, "Slam, Dunk, & Hook". Lines such as "Swish of strings like silk" and "All hands and feet...sprung rhythm." demonstrate how graceful and synchronized basketball can be through vivid imagery.

Poetry Sounds

The way a poem sounds has a great affect on the reader's interpretation. Through the use of sound devices, writers can manipulate how they want the feel of their poem to be. In Robert Frost's poem, "Out, Out--" words like "buzz", "snarled" and "rattled" depict an inanimate object like a buzz-saw as an uncontrollable animal. Sibilance in the line "sweet-scented stuff" adds a sinister, snake-like feel that reinforces the animalistic quality in the poem. In Yusef Komunyakaa's poem, "Slam, Dunk, & Hook", sibilance appears yet again, only this time it is used to emphasize the fast, yet smooth, pace of the basketball players: "Swish of strings like silk." The reader can fully visualize the ball swishing perfectly inside the net.