Book Anatomy · Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 76 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
2,626 different words. On average 46 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,137 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
alice, mock, rabbit, mouse, duchess. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 13.95 words ending in 'ly' and 4.24 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 2.9% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 3.6% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 28% of sentences: i, the, alice, and, you.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 124 |
| the | 94 |
| alice | 81 |
| and | 53 |
| you | 38 |
| it | 35 |
| she | 34 |
| what | 34 |
| but | 31 |
| oh | 29 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.82 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
63 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.36 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 3: So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of …
Ch 1, para 6: The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping …
Ch 1, para 11: Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again. “Dinah’ll miss me very much to-night, I should think!” (Dinah was the cat.) …
Ch 1, para 12: Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her …
Ch 1, para 15: Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along the passage into …
Ch 1, para 19: “What a curious feeling!” said Alice; “I must be shutting up like a telescope.”
Carroll uses few formal similes but relies on absurd comparisons embedded in dialogue and action. Examples include the Caterpillar's cryptic advice and the croquet game where creatures become equipment, creating metaphors for chaos and loss of control.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 7, Ch 8
Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad. (Ch 6, para 61)
it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches. (Ch 8, para 42)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 53%, sound 35%, touch 9%, taste 4%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 217 |
| sound | 142 |
| touch | 36 |
| taste | 15 |
Sight dominates: colours, shapes, size changes. Sound appears in dialogue and the Mock Turtle's song. Smell features in the pepper-filled kitchen. Touch and taste are minimal, though eating and drinking drive the plot.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 9, Ch 10
The door led right into a large kitchen, which was full of smoke from one end to the other (Ch 6, para 20)
Beautiful Soup, so rich and green, Waiting in a hot tureen! (Ch 10, para 77)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
15 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.56 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear frequently: three gardeners, three sisters in the treacle-well, three pieces of evidence at trial. Repetition of size changes and the phrase 'Off with their heads' reinforce Wonderland's patterns and the Queen's threats.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 11, Ch 12
The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day: The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, And took them quite away! (Ch 11, para 13)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: doth, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| doth | 3 |
| nay | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Carroll shows rather than tells through dialogue and action. Alice's confusion is shown through her questions and mistakes, not explained. The trial's nonsense is revealed through garbled evidence and absurd rules rather than narration.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 11, Ch 12
Give your evidence,” said the King; “and don’t be nervous, or I’ll have you executed on the spot. (Ch 11, para 28)
Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop. (Ch 12, para 40)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is sparse and woven into action. Carroll introduces settings briefly then moves to dialogue and events. The garden is described in one line after chapters of pursuit, prioritising movement over scene-setting.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 8
and then—she found herself at last in the beautiful garden, among the bright flower-beds and the cool fountains. (Ch 7, para 106)
A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. (Ch 8, para 2)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 7.28 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 74 |
| heard | 30 |
| seemed | 27 |
| felt | 23 |
| knew | 15 |
| saw | 14 |
| noticed | 8 |
| watched | 2 |
| wondered | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from curious wonder in Chapter 1 to frustration at the tea-party in Chapter 7, then to anger and defiance at the trial in Chapters 11 and 12. The final chapter softens into dreamlike reflection.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 11, Ch 12
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy works through absurd logic, wordplay, and physical transformation. The Caucus-race where everyone wins, riddles with no answers, and creatures as croquet equipment create humour through contradiction and nonsense.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 10
Everybody has won, and all must have prizes. (Ch 3, para 21)
Why is a raven like a writing-desk? (Ch 7, para 12)
it was all ridges and furrows; the balls were live hedgehogs, the mallets live flamingoes, and the soldiers had to double themselves up and to stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches. (Ch 8, para 42)
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