Anna Karenina: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. 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 67 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
13,123 different words. On average 48 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 4,794 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
kitty, princess, dolly, alexandrovna, countess. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 15.36 words ending in 'ly' and 8.36 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 3.5% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 6.0% 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 29% of sentences: i, he, but, the, and.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 1226 |
| he | 1203 |
| but | 1147 |
| the | 1133 |
| and | 1090 |
| she | 841 |
| yes | 430 |
| you | 415 |
| what | 411 |
| levin | 388 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.75 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
314 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.89 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 2, para 35: Matvey was already holding up the shirt like a horse’s collar, and, blowing off some invisible speck, he slipped it with obvious pleasure over the well-groomed body of …
Ch 3, para 5: Stepan Arkadyevitch had not chosen his political opinions or his views; these political opinions and views had come to him of themselves, just as he did not choose …
Ch 5, para 4: After filling for three years the post of president of one of the government boards at Moscow, Stepan Arkadyevitch had won the respect, as well as the liking, …
Ch 5, para 5: On reaching the offices of the board, Stepan Arkadyevitch, escorted by a deferential porter with a portfolio, went into his little private room, put on his uniform, and …
Ch 5, para 35: “It’s a long story. I will tell you some time,” said Levin, but he began telling him at once. “Well, to put it shortly, I was convinced that …
Ch 5, para 57: “What don’t you understand?” said Oblonsky, smiling as brightly as ever, and picking up a cigarette. He expected some queer outburst from Levin.
Tolstoy uses similes and metaphors extensively, often comparing emotional states to physical sensations or natural phenomena. Examples include Anna's jealousy as a poison, Levin's despair as a chasm, and love as light or fire. Metaphors of railways, trains, and journeys recur throughout.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 29, Ch 45, Ch 62, Ch 103, Ch 220
Now he experienced a feeling akin to that of a man who, while calmly crossing a precipice by a bridge, should suddenly discover that the bridge is broken, and that there is a chasm below. (Ch 42, para 4)
He felt as though some external force were moving him. (Ch 74, para 29)
There only, in the carriage that had crossed over to the other side of the road, and was rapidly disappearing, there only could he find the solution of the riddle of his life (Ch 81, para 14)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 57%, sound 20%, touch 20%, taste 2%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 2582 |
| sound | 902 |
| touch | 882 |
| taste | 94 |
| smell | 48 |
All five senses appear frequently. Sight dominates (faces, expressions, beauty). Sound includes music, conversation, and silence. Touch conveys emotion (embraces, physical revulsion). Smell and taste appear less often but mark key moments like the hay and food.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 22, Ch 74, Ch 128, Ch 204
She was the smile that shed light on all round her. “Is it possible I can go over there on the ice, go up to her? (Ch 9, para 4)
in the expression of her charming face, as she passed close by him, there was something peculiarly caressing and soft (Ch 18, para 2)
Mercy! Your new white frock! Tanya! Grisha!” said their mother, trying to save the frock, but with tears in her eyes, smiling a blissful, rapturous smile. (Ch 77, para 12)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
419 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.19 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Tolstoy uses repetition of key phrases ('happy families', 'goodness', 'love'), lists of three (philosophers, suitors, moral choices), and parallel structures across subplots. Patterns of quarrel-reconciliation repeat in multiple relationships.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 113, Ch 140, Ch 164, Ch 213
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Ch 1, para 1)
I hate her with my whole soul, and I cannot even forgive her, because I hate her too much for all the wrong she has done me! (Ch 113, para 43)
How dare he look at my wife like that!” was the feeling that boiled within him. (Ch 164, para 34)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, thy, whence, thee, thou, wherefore.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 32 |
| thy | 12 |
| whence | 7 |
| thee | 7 |
| thou | 7 |
| wherefore | 2 |
| wilt | 1 |
| nay | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Tolstoy shows character through action and dialogue rather than summary. Levin's spiritual crisis is revealed through his conversations and internal struggle, not told. Anna's despair emerges through her behaviour at the opera and station, not explanation.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 62, Ch 105, Ch 189, Ch 220
only then she realized that the question did not affect her only—with whom she would be happy, and whom she loved—but that she would have that moment to wound a man whom she liked (Ch 13, para 4)
He examined that face again, trying not to read what was so plainly written on it, and against his own will, with horror read on it what he did not want to know. (Ch 62, para 30)
he would have to make haste to put his new project to the peasants before the sowing of the winter wheat (Ch 97, para 34)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. Rooms are described as characters enter them; landscapes emerge during journeys. The mowing scene shows the meadow through Levin's labour, not static observation.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 74, Ch 128, Ch 141, Ch 237
She was the smile that shed light on all round her. “Is it possible I can go over there on the ice, go up to her? (Ch 9, para 4)
He felt as though some external force were moving him. (Ch 74, para 29)
He saw nothing but her clear, truthful eyes, frightened by the same bliss of love that flooded his heart. Those eyes were shining nearer and nearer, blinding him with their light of love. (Ch 116, para 11)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 7.42 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 569 |
| felt | 555 |
| saw | 421 |
| knew | 390 |
| seemed | 295 |
| heard | 254 |
| noticed | 65 |
| realized | 22 |
| watched | 20 |
| wondered | 20 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from ironic social comedy in early chapters to tragic intensity in Anna's sections, then to philosophical depth in Levin's crisis. The final chapters balance spiritual revelation with domestic comedy and political debate.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 62, Ch 105, Ch 189, Ch 239
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. (Ch 1, para 1)
He examined that face again, trying not to read what was so plainly written on it, and against his own will, with horror read on it what he did not want to know. (Ch 62, para 30)
I hate her with my whole soul, and I cannot even forgive her, because I hate her too much for all the wrong she has done me! (Ch 113, para 43)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from social pretence, misunderstandings, and character contradictions. Oblonsky's cheerful amorality, Veslovsky's bumbling, and the absurdity of the mystic Landau provide humour. Irony undercuts grand emotions throughout.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 11, Ch 163, Ch 210
It appeared that he had forgotten nothing except what he wanted to forget—his wife. (Ch 3, para 27)
We are aristocrats, and not those who can only exist by favor of the powerful of this world, and who can be bought for twopence halfpenny. (Ch 51, para 31)
How dare he look at my wife like that!” was the feeling that boiled within him. (Ch 164, para 34)
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