Establishing mood in a story, poem, novel, or other fictional work is an essential literary device. Mood engages the readers with the narrative and helps them understand many aspects of a story on an emotional level. This allows the readers to make further connections with the literary work as the writer is able to express deeper meaning. Here are some examples of mood in well-known literature.

And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)

“The others went upstairs, a slow unwilling procession. If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily panelled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling. But this house was the essence of modernity. There were no dark corners — no possible sliding panels — it was flooded with electric light — everything was new and bright and shining. There was nothing hidden in this house, nothing concealed. It had no atmosphere about it. Somehow, that was the most frightening thing of all. They exchanged good-nights on the upper landing. Each of them went into his or her own room, and each of them automatically, almost without conscious thought, locked the door….”

In her well-known novel, Christie makes an interesting and clear delineation between mood and atmosphere in the narrative. The atmosphere of the house where the group is staying is modern, new and open, and therefore, emanates what should be a non-threatening feeling to the characters and readers as well.

The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)

“He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation of the calm. The clouds were building up now for the trade wind and he looked ahead and saw a flight of wild ducks etching themselves against the sky over the water, then blurring, then etching again and he knew no man was ever alone on the sea.”

In his well-known novel, Hemingway portrays a character (the old man), who lives much of his life in isolation and often suffers from loneliness. However, as demonstrated in this passage, the overall mood of the story reflects the comforting presence of nature, which eases the man’s feelings of loneliness and those of the reader as well. Hemingway establishes this mood through the peaceful and comforting tone of the narrator toward the old man and the setting, which influences the reader’s emotions.