Literary terms · AP English Literature, AP English Language, SAT Reading and Writing, ACT Reading
Tone shift
Tone shift: A change in a speaker's or narrator's attitude within a text, often marking a turn in meaning.
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What it means
Tone shifts happen when a text moves from one attitude to another: playful to serious, confident to doubtful, bitter to reconciled. They are signaled by changes in diction, syntax, imagery, punctuation or address.
Shifts often mark the most important moment in a poem or passage, because they show the speaker or character changing their understanding.
Example
A poem begins with cheerful descriptions of a beach vacation, then in the last stanza the speaker notices the tide erasing footprints, and the tone turns reflective about time.
On the exam
Organizing a poetry or prose essay around a tone shift gives you a natural line of reasoning: before, at and after the turn.