One of the most useful tools of the literary translator is a thoroughgoing apperception of tone; the overall 'feel' of a literary work or portion thereof, inlcuding both its conscious and unconscious resonance. In the present article, the author argues that by assigning a high priority to maintenance of tone, the translator can avoid such pitfalls as a slavish fealty to the literal meaning of a word or phrase that distorts the author's intent. Tone is helpful in dealing with puns, indirect allusions, dialect, solecisms, and slang.