The tone of the poem is the attitude you feel in it. Tone can be playful, funny, regretful, angry etc. Almost all poetry has messages that can be as diverse as stars. The poem has certain beauties in sound and meaning. The attitude a poet has towards his/her audience and the thing, or subject that is being talked about gives you the general emotional tone of the poem. Verbal Irony is saying one thing while meaning another. To understate is to say less than is meant, while to overstate means to exaggerate with the words. Two things to consider when reading poetry is what’s being discussed and what the poet thinks about it. Explore the poem. Every poem has a speaker. Like a regular story there is also a setting, a situation, a plot, and a main character. There is also an atmosphere about each poem that inspires emotion in the reader.