Question

The use of phrases, fragments, and punctuation can influence the mood of a passage; keeping this in mind, how would you describe the mood of the following passage?

"Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier-brigs; fog lying out on the yards, and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little 'prentice boy on deck."

Dreary
Delighted
Terrified
Optimistic

Answer 1

Probably dreary because delighted and optimistic definitely do not fit into the description, but the text doesn’t exactly stand out as terrified. It seems quite dreary.

Answer 2

Dreary

Step-by-step explanation:

The mood refers to the predominant emotion or feeling in a story, that is created through the choice of words, phrases, and tone used to describe and narrate. The repetition of the word "fog" in the passage symbolizes many things, all of them with a negative and dark connotation: Confusion, obscurity, loss, isolation, mystery or blurring between reality and unreality. This constant and calm repetition of the word "fog" in the writing, evokes in the reader a dull, dreary, and lifeless feeling.