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Style
Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:
The narrator's tone is very distinctive throughout The Once and Future King: it is as if a rather witty and intelligent father is telling a bedtime story. The narrator regularly comments on the progression of the story, often questioning themself and telling the reader explicitly that they are attempting to find the right description but might fail.
The narrator describes how they are attempting to tell the story, noting what they think the "best description" might be or what they might write a chapter about. In fact, there is so much involvement of the narrator that at times the book reads less like a novel and more like the record of an author trying to tell a story using extensive source material, with the process of attempting the telling included in the telling.
This makes the book "metafictional," insofar as part of its subject is the idea of fiction itself. The fiction of the book includes the question of how to adapt Le Morte d'Arthur in a post-war world. What is most notable about White's metafiction, though, is that he contains it to the tone of the narrator. Only in the peculiar character of the narrator, and their announcements of their decisions and opinions, do readers see this metafictional effect. In turn, White deeply complicates his narrative while retaining an enjoyable and humorous reading experience.
