What is the tone One asked of regret And I made reply
To have held the bird,
And let it fly
To have seen the star
For a moment nigh
And lost it
Through a slothful eye.
To have plucked the flower
And cast it by
To have one only hope
To die
- What is the writers tone?

Hi Nina,

Tone can be a difficult thing to gather from a piece. But there are a few things we can look for in order to form our opinions:

• Diction (word choice)

Words from the poem: lost, slothful, die, regret...

What do these words suggest? What emotion do they share?

• POV (point of view)

How do you think the author of the piece feels when he was writing the poem? Do you think he was happy or sad etc?

• Outcome

How does the poem end. Is it a happy ending or a sad ending? This will help you decipher the tone.

Here are some examples of possible tones: (not related to the poem above): joyful, hopeful, sympathetic, vengeful... and many many more.