Language and Literature 8B

Curie Chiou

Apr.28.17

Jessica Millsaps made a good use of the technique of changing tones in her poem “Hope is not lost” to teach the readers to not give up in any worse situations and to always stay positive. The author changes her tone constantly on a regular basis from stanza one to five, furthermore producing a change in the reader’s mood. For example: “when the desperation hit...hope stayed; when kids and families were torn apart...hope tried; when people lost all they had...hope flew; when the world was shocked with desperation and despair...hope worked; when the lives were lost...hope was there” (Millsaps, line 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 20). In order to produce changes in the reader’s mood, the author shifted her tone quite often. In every two lines of the evidence provided, the author first talked in a negative tone, and lists out the effects of the situations in the society people aren’t willing to face in their lives. In the second line, the author shifted her tone, and talked about no matter how worse these situations can harm ourselves, hope will always be there for us as a support, brightening up the mood of the readers. The tone of the author based on every two lines shifted from negative to heartening and positive, causing the mood of the readers to also change from being sad and gloomy to hopeful. The constantly changing of tones helped the author to convey the message of not giving up and staying positive by making the readers know that hope is the strongest mental support. Also, I personally think changing tones at the last line is made purposefully, producing a feeling in the readers that hope got our backs, so we should have the courage to face loss and rejuvenate as soon as possible. In conclusion, when shifting tones, it meanwhile causes a shift in the reader’s mood. However, the author made a good use of the shifting of tones and made the readers felt not as helpless after reading the poem.