Book Anatomy · Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. 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 72 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
9,569 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,692 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
ivanovna, that's, alexandrovna, pyotr, it's. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 17.4 words ending in 'ly' and 8.4 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 3.6% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.8% 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 30% of sentences: i, he, and, but, the.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 1303 |
| he | 1195 |
| and | 743 |
| but | 679 |
| the | 529 |
| you | 515 |
| what | 425 |
| she | 422 |
| it | 327 |
| raskolnikov | 309 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.8 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
274 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.34 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 2: He had successfully avoided meeting his landlady on the staircase. His garret was under the roof of a high, five-storied house and was more like a cupboard than …
Ch 1, para 3: This was not because he was cowardly and abject, quite the contrary; but for some time past he had been in an overstrained irritable condition, verging on hypochondria. …
Ch 1, para 11: “If I am so scared now, what would it be if it somehow came to pass that I were really going to do it?” he could not help …
Ch 1, para 18: “So the sun will shine like this then too!” flashed as it were by chance through Raskolnikov’s mind, and with a rapid glance he scanned everything in the …
Ch 1, para 34: “It must be the top drawer,” he reflected. “So she carries the keys in a pocket on the right. All in one bunch on a steel ring.... And …
Ch 1, para 40: “I may be bringing you something else in a day or two, Alyona Ivanovna--a valuable thing--silver--a cigarette-box, as soon as I get it back from a friend...” he …
Dostoevsky uses similes and metaphors extensively, often comparing mental states to physical sensations: fever as confusion, fog as isolation, drowning as temptation. Moral concepts appear as journeys and crosses. The pawnbroker becomes a symbol of greed; blood represents guilt.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 32, Ch 39, Ch 41
No one has been here. That’s the blood crying in your ears. When there’s no outlet for it and it gets clotted, you begin fancying things. (Ch 9, para 66)
A strange period began for Raskolnikov: it was as though a fog had fallen upon him and wrapped him in a dreary solitude from which there was no escape. (Ch 32, para 1)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 62%, sound 23%, touch 12%, taste 1%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 1583 |
| sound | 583 |
| touch | 318 |
| taste | 38 |
| smell | 24 |
Sight dominates: faces, gestures, blood, worn clothing. Sound appears in dialogue and street noise. Touch conveys fever, trembling, physical revulsion. Smell and taste are sparse. Sensory detail anchors psychological states.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 24
But his heart did not leave off. On the contrary, as though to spite him, it throbbed more and more violently (Ch 6, para 60)
All who met him were loathsome to him--he loathed their faces, their movements, their gestures. (Ch 9, para 16)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
276 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.35 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of key phrases: 'trifles', 'extraordinary men', 'suffering'. Lists of three appear in family groupings and moral choices. Patterns of fever-clarity-fever structure the narrative. Raskolnikov's internal debates repeat with variations.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 19, Ch 30, Ch 33, Ch 41
I want to attempt a thing like that and am frightened by these trifles (Ch 1, para 5)
Trifles, trifles are what matter! Why, it’s just such trifles that always ruin everything (Ch 1, para 8)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thee, thy, art, whilst, wilt.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 12 |
| thee | 6 |
| thy | 6 |
| art | 4 |
| whilst | 2 |
| wilt | 1 |
| hath | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Dostoevsky shows guilt through action and physical symptom rather than stating it. Raskolnikov's trembling hands, his compulsion to revisit the flat, his fever dreams reveal his state. Dialogue reveals character through what is said and unsaid, especially with Porfiry.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 13, Ch 25, Ch 30
But his heart did not leave off. On the contrary, as though to spite him, it throbbed more and more violently (Ch 6, para 60)
And what if it was I who murdered the old woman and Lizaveta?” he said suddenly and--realised what he had done. (Ch 13, para 110)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. Rooms are revealed through Raskolnikov's movement through them. The pawnbroker's flat emerges as he scouts it. Weather and poverty appear as obstacles to action, not static backdrop.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 24
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.94 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 305 |
| seemed | 184 |
| felt | 172 |
| heard | 158 |
| saw | 154 |
| knew | 130 |
| noticed | 67 |
| realised | 17 |
| wondered | 15 |
| watched | 12 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from psychological realism to fever delirium, then to moral interrogation with Porfiry, then to spiritual awakening. Comedy appears briefly in Razumihin's drunken enthusiasm and Luzhin's wounded vanity, contrasting with the dark core.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 9, Ch 19, Ch 25, Ch 38, Ch 41
He came in looking as though he had the utmost difficulty not to burst out laughing again. (Ch 19, para 1)
Pyotr Petrovitch gazed at him for some seconds with a pale face that worked with anger, then he turned, went out, and rarely has any man carried away in his heart such vindictive hatred as he felt against Raskolnikov. (Ch 22, para 110)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is sparse and dark. Razumihin's bumbling loyalty, Luzhin's transparent self-interest, and Porfiry's playful interrogation provide relief. The humour undercuts pretension and reveals character flaws, never lightening the moral weight.
Chapters: Ch 15, Ch 19, Ch 25, Ch 27, Ch 29
Talk nonsense, but talk your own nonsense, and I’ll kiss you for it. To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s. (Ch 15, para 43)
He came in looking as though he had the utmost difficulty not to burst out laughing again. (Ch 19, para 1)
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