Tone is the attitude of the author or narrator toward a subject. It is related to a piece's mood, but mood focuses on reader feelings. I would describe the speaker's tone as candid, dignified, and direct.
Candid and direct are similar to each other, but I believe that the poem's wording conveys this tone quite well to readers. The poem does not mess around with highbrow language or extended metaphors. It describes the actions of a person in a straightforward and honest way. The speaker describes various kinds of mundane, physical labor, but the speaker does not glorify them or complain about those jobs. They are simply jobs that need to be done and are being done well. The tone is also dignified, which might seem odd considering that the language is so simple. However, dignified does not have to mean rich and flowery. Dignified can be respectful and serious....
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That does not mean it needs to be complex. This poem shows readers that all work is important, and doing the work well is equally important.
This bed whose covers I straighten smoothing edges till blue quilt fits brown blanket and nothing hangs out
The speaker displays pride in what she is doing, and that helps convey a dignified tone.
The tone of the poem “Daily” by Naomi Shihab Nye is reverence for hard work and the little things in life. The author writes the poem with vivid imagery as she describes the mundane tasks that one does throughout the day. These mundane, repetitive tasks become the things that life is made of and when they are done with precision and pride they become a life’s work. The author describes making the bed, frying tortillas, and addressing an envelope “so the name balances like a cloud in the center of the sky.” The author uses the simile to create visual imagery of the address being written neatly and precisely on the envelope not simply scrawled across it. This shows the pride the narrator puts into her actions. The author is telling the reader that the daily handiwork that is done repeatedly is what makes a life so it should be done well and with meaning.