Technique
Tone
Analogous to tone of voice in speech. I.A. Richards identified tone as one of the four dimensions of meaning (alongside sense, feeling, intention). Critical to interpreting a poem's emotional register.
Definition
The poet's attitude toward the subject and the reader, conveyed through diction, imagery, syntax, and formal choice.
Example
Hardy's tone in 'The Darkling Thrush' is bleak yet grudgingly hopeful; Marvell's in 'To His Coy Mistress' is witty and seductive.