In this example, the atmosphere is created not only by the setting, but also by the language used. It’s late at night, there’s a strange knocking at the door, and it’s reasonable to suspect something mysterious or even dangerous is waiting on the other side. In just a few lines, Poe creates an atmosphere of suspense for the reader. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,Īs of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door … Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Now that you understand the basics of what mood and atmosphere are, let’s look at a few examples to see how atmosphere and mood work in action. The ultimate mood setter in writing used to be “It was a dark and stormy night.” Learn the history of the phrase. A story may have a suffocating or foreboding atmosphere, but within that atmosphere, readers can still experience feelings of joy, wonder, sadness, or hope. Mood describes “a state or quality of feeling at a particular time,” and the mood of a story, poem, or essay can shift depending on the events, characters, setting, or changing information.Ītmosphere and mood work together, but they aren’t always in agreement. Mood is a part and parcel of atmosphere, but they aren’t necessarily the same thing or always in lock step. While the importance of atmosphere is commonly associated with poetry and fiction, it is also vital to adding depth to personal essays and other types of nonfiction writing as well. What are atmosphere and mood?Ītmosphere is “the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel.” If you think of your story, essay or other writing as a room, what does your reader feel upon walking into that room? That’s an easy way to consider the overall atmosphere of your piece. Keep reading to learn how the pros establish atmosphere and mood in their work, and to get some tried and true strategies for creating this magic in your own writing. Through atmosphere and mood, authors establish a tone for their work, create ambience, and evoke emotions. Authors like Shirley Jackson use language, descriptions, and other devices to pull readers into a different world. Writers have many tools in their toolboxes to make their work compelling, but a huge part of what draws us into stories is atmosphere and mood. The best authors and writers always find a way to draw their readers in, get them invested in the work, and leave them desperate to read the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next page.

The Haunting of Hill House (1959), Shirley JacksonĪfter reading that opening, we bet you’re wondering what happens next. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone… Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.

Different moods in writing