Genre
A short story
Setting and Context
The main actions take place in Denmark, but it is also mentioned that Tonio has spent fifteen years in Munich
Narrator and Point of View
It is third-person narration, but a lot of dialogues are included which open the thoughts of the characters, also Tonio writes a few letters, which helps to understand him better
Tone and Mood
The mood and tone are mostly sad and unhopeful, but in the very end when Tonio finally realizes the meaning of things he search for, the tone becomes more cheerful
Protagonist and Antagonist
Tonio is the protagonist.
Major Conflict
The conflict stands in the art and literature meaning and in the decline of bourgeois society
Climax
The climax occurs when Tonio sees Hans and Inge as a married couple
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
The clear depiction of society tragedy is left unspoken
Allusions
The story alludes to some ideas of Russian literature
Imagery
See the imagery section
Paradox
The main paradox is that Tonio has found what he so wanted, but he already possessed it from the very beginning – it is love
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The school boys call their teacher Olympian hat and Ambrosial beard. (synecdoche)
Tonio was a son of a Consul, his father was a prominent businessman, and “grainsacks with the firm name in the black letters one might see any day driven through the streets”. (metonymy)
Personification
“Powerful machine-saws hissed and spat and cut up timber”, the saws acquire the characteristics of living creatures, mostly of serpents.
“the fountain leaped and danced in the garden”
