Guide to Literary Terms Mood

Mood is what makes readers feel an emotional attachment to what they are reading. The mood of a piece expresses internal feelings, not the feeling of a place—that’s atmosphere.

• "Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
• And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
• Eagerly I wished the morrow; — vainly I had sought to borrow
• From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost Lenore —
• For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
• Nameless here for evermore."
• Edgar Allan Poe does a very effective job of creating mood for readers, as seen in this stanza of "The Raven."

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