Question

Which opening sentences create a mood that is similar to the mood of this landscape?

“It was a dark and stormy night.”
“The black clouds seemed dangerous and full of ill will.”
“A tear ran down her cheek as the cold wind blew the ribbon from her hair.”
“Nothing good could come of it. Simon knew the signs of trouble, and they were everywhere.”
“The town had long been cursed, but no one knew when it had all begun.”

Answer 1

The sentences that match a bleak, ominous landscape mood are 1, 2, 4 and 5:

- “It was a dark and stormy night.” — immediate gloom and menace.
- “The black clouds seemed dangerous and full of ill will.” — personifies the sky as hostile.
- “Nothing good could come of it. Simon knew the signs of trouble, and they were everywhere.” — strong foreboding and threat.
- “The town had long been cursed, but no one knew when it had all begun.” — gothic, ominous history.

Sentence 3 (“A tear ran down her cheek as the cold wind blew the ribbon from her hair.”) reads as personal sorrow and wind-chill detail; it evokes sadness or melancholy rather than the broad, menacing atmosphere those other lines create.