Mood

What is mood?

• The feeling the reader gets from a story.
• The dialogue in a story.
• The author's attitude about a topic.
• A type of figurative language.

Janet looked at the rickety rope bridge as it swayed in the wind. The small planks on the floor of the bridge were spaced about a foot apart. They looked like they had been made from driftwood or wine corks. Janet looked down into the canyon below the rope bridge. It was wide and deep. She could barely make out what was at the bottom. She inched onto the first plank. It creaked loudly. Then she put her weight onto the weathered plank, clinging tightly to the ropes. The wind had a ghostly whistle.

What is the mood of this paragraph?

• Tense

• Thrilling

• Confident

• Proud

“Mrs. Whatsit continued to climb, her wings straining a little. Meg felt her heart racing; cold sweat began to gather on her face and her lips felt as though they were turning blue. She began to gasp."

Which words create the mood?

• Straining

• Heart racing

• Cold sweat

• Lips

• Gasp

“They were standing in a sunlit field, and the air about them was moving with the delicious fragrance that comes only on the rarest of spring days when the sun’s touch is gentle and the apple blossoms are just beginning to unfold.” (67)

Which words create the mood?

• Sunlit field

• Standing

• Spring days

• Sun's touch, gentle

• Beginning

“Meg knelt at her mother’s feet. The warmth and light of the kitchen had relaxed her so that her attic fears were gone. The cocoa steamed fragrantly in the saucepan; geraniums bloomed on the window sills and there was a bouquet of tiny yellow chrysanthemums in the center of the table. The curtains, red, with a blue and green geometrical pattern were drawn and seemed to reflect their cheerfulness throughout the room. The furnace purred like a great, sleepy animal; the lights glowed with steady radiance…” (16)

Which words create the mood?

• Warmth and Light

• Relaxed

• Saucepan

• Purred; Sleepy

“Did a shadow fall across the moon or did the moon simply go out, extinguished as abruptly and completely as a candle? There was still the sound of leaves, a terrified, terrifying rushing. All light was gone. Darkness was complete. Suddenly the wind was gone, and all sound. Meg felt that Calvin was being torn from her. When she reached for him her fingers touched nothing.”

• Sad

• Frightening

• Magical

• Joyous

“They were standing in a sunlit field, and the air about them was moving with the delicious fragrance that comes only on the rarest of spring days when the sun’s touch is gentle and the apple blossoms are just beginning to unfold.” (67)

• Peaceful

• Suspenseful

• Restless

• Exciting

Jane stretched her arms out and relaxed in the grassy field. The sun warmed her skin and the breeze tussled her hair. The insects hummed and worked and while the world turned, Jane did nothing at all. She took a deep breath and let it fall from her lungs. The brook trickled its secrets and the sounds of nature blended into the symphony of the spring. Jane was in no hurry at all. She was at rest.

What is the mood of this paragraph?

• anxious

• demanding

• depressing

• harmonious

“Meg knelt at her mother’s feet. The warmth and light of the kitchen had relaxed her so that her attic fears were gone. The cocoa steamed fragrantly in the saucepan; geraniums bloomed on the window sills and there was a bouquet of tiny yellow chrysanthemums in the center of the table. The curtains, red, with a blue and green geometrical pattern were drawn and seemed to reflect their cheerfulness throughout the room. The furnace purred like a great, sleepy animal; the lights glowed with steady radiance…” (16)

• Harsh

• Comforting

• Excited

• Spooky

“They were standing in a sunlit field, and the air about them was moving with the delicious fragrance that comes only on the rarest of spring days when the sun’s touch is gentle and the apple blossoms are just beginning to unfold.” (67)

Which words create the mood?

• Sunlit field

• Standing

• Spring days

• Sun's touch, gentle

• Beginning