Black Beauty: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. 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
4,008 different words. On average 47 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,666 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
horse, horses, master, stable, john. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 8.84 words ending in 'ly' and 5.6 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 4.2% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 9.6% 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 36% of sentences: i, the, he, it, there.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 399 |
| the | 193 |
| he | 142 |
| it | 79 |
| there | 56 |
| you | 52 |
| well | 47 |
| we | 46 |
| then | 46 |
| when | 43 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.68 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
135 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.25 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 4: There were six young colts in the meadow besides me; they were older than I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up horses. I used to run …
Ch 1, para 4: There were six young colts in the meadow besides me; they were older than I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up horses. I used to run …
Ch 1, para 4: There were six young colts in the meadow besides me; they were older than I was; some were nearly as large as grown-up horses. I used to run …
Ch 1, para 11: “Bad boy!” he said, “bad boy! to chase the colts. This is not the first time, nor the second, but it shall be the last. There--take your money …
Ch 2, para 1: Before I was two years old a circumstance happened which I have never forgotten. It was early in the spring; there had been a little frost in the …
Ch 2, para 3: And soon the dogs were all tearing down the field of young wheat next to ours. I never heard such a noise as they made. They did not …
The novel uses similes sparingly but effectively, mostly comparing horses' conditions to human suffering. Metaphors dominate: the check-rein symbolises cruel fashion, the bridge refusal represents animal wisdom, and Beauty's journey mirrors a moral fall and redemption arc.
Chapters: Ch 10, Ch 12, Ch 23, Ch 25
I had been driven with a check-rein by the dealer, and I hated it worse than anything else; but in this place we were reined far tighter, the coachman and his master thinking we looked more stylish so. (Ch 8, para 2)
We were going along at a good pace, but the moment my feet touched the first part of the bridge I felt sure there was something wrong. I dare not go forward, and I made a dead stop. (Ch 12, para 9)
What I suffered with that rein for four long months in my lady's carriage it would be hard to describe (Ch 23, para 12)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 51%, sound 23%, touch 22%, taste 3%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 440 |
| sound | 199 |
| touch | 191 |
| taste | 24 |
| smell | 9 |
Sight dominates: Beauty observes cruelty and kindness constantly. Sound appears in storms, fire, and traffic. Smell marks character (quote 59: 'clean, fresh smell' signals goodness). Touch conveys pain and care. Taste is absent; food signals neglect or care.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 12, Ch 16, Ch 32, Ch 33
the clean, fresh smell there was about him made me take to him; no smell of old beer and tobacco, which I hated (Ch 32, para 5)
I cannot say how long I had slept, nor what time in the night it was, but I woke up very uncomfortable, though I hardly knew why. I got up; the air seemed all thick and choking. (Ch 16, para 4)
Over this road, with one shoe gone, I was forced to gallop at my utmost speed, my rider meanwhile cutting into me with his whip, and with wild curses urging me to go still faster (Ch 25, para 8)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
53 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.89 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in quote 11 (patience, gentleness, firmness) and 72 (the Golden Rule). Repetition of 'check-rein' across chapters 8, 10, 22, 23 builds critique. Parallel structures show kindness versus cruelty in paired scenes.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 37
these balls, he said, were made up of patience and gentleness, firmness and petting, one pound of each to be mixed up with half a pint of common sense, and given to the horse every day. (Ch 8, para 15)
you know we should do to other people as we should like they should do to us (Ch 37, para 11)
My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt (Ch 38, para 17)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: twas, whence, forsooth, nay, thou, shalt.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| twas | 6 |
| whence | 1 |
| forsooth | 1 |
| nay | 1 |
| thou | 1 |
| shalt | 1 |
| ere | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The novel shows cruelty through action rather than stating it: Reuben Smith's drunken ride (chapter 25) and Skinner's brutality (chapter 47) are dramatised. Kindness is shown through Jerry's care and the ladies' acceptance, not explained.
Chapters: Ch 25, Ch 33, Ch 35, Ch 47, Ch 48
Over this road, with one shoe gone, I was forced to gallop at my utmost speed, my rider meanwhile cutting into me with his whip, and with wild curses urging me to go still faster (Ch 25, para 8)
Jerry was as good a driver as I had ever known, and what was better, he took as much thought for his horses as he did for himself (Ch 33, para 13)
My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt (Ch 38, para 17)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action throughout. The opening meadow (chapter 1) is brief before the hunt. Most settings emerge as Beauty moves through them. Descriptions of Beauty's physical state grow longer as he declines, mirroring his suffering.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 27, Ch 40, Ch 47
At this time I used to stand in the stable and my coat was brushed every day till it shone like a rook's wing. (Ch 4, para 1)
The beautifully arched and glossy neck was now straight, and lank, and fallen in; the clean straight legs and delicate fetlocks were swelled (Ch 40, para 2)
I never knew till now the utter misery of a cab-horse's life (Ch 47, para 2)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 6.3 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 71 |
| heard | 69 |
| knew | 66 |
| saw | 63 |
| seemed | 60 |
| felt | 37 |
| noticed | 6 |
| wondered | 3 |
| watched | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from innocent wonder (chapters 1 to 4) to growing awareness of cruelty (chapters 7 to 11), despair during decline (chapters 27 to 47), and quiet peace at the end (chapter 49). The fire (chapter 16) and Reuben's death (chapter 25) mark tonal turns.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 16, Ch 25, Ch 27, Ch 47
They were carrying young Gordon to the churchyard to bury him. He would never ride again. What they did with Rob Roy I never knew; but 'twas all for one little hare. (Ch 2, para 16)
He's dead,” he said; “feel how cold his hands are (Ch 26, para 3)
My troubles are all over, and I am at home; and often before I am quite awake, I fancy I am still in the orchard at Birtwick, standing with my old friends under the apple-trees. (Ch 49, para 22)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is gentle and rare: Merrylegs' pony pride (chapter 4), the Blomefield boys learning from the pony (chapter 9), and Joe Green's earnest growth provide light moments. Humour serves to humanise characters rather than mock them.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 9, Ch 20, Ch 33
My name is Merrylegs. I am very handsome; I carry the young ladies on my back, and sometimes I take our mistress out in the low chair. (Ch 4, para 8)
What were horses made for, if not to drag people uphill? Walk! A good joke indeed! (Ch 29, para 3)
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