Doctor Faustus: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. 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
2,719 different words. On average 50 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,656 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
later, doctor, footnote, robin, emperor. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 7.14 words ending in 'ly' and 6.9 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 2.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.5% 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 37% of sentences: footnote, faustus, i, enter, the.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| footnote | 175 |
| faustus | 70 |
| i | 27 |
| enter | 23 |
| the | 20 |
| mephist | 18 |
| robin | 18 |
| o | 18 |
| but | 15 |
| horse | 14 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 1.17 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
18 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.44 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 27: ROBIN. True, Ralph: and more, Ralph, if thou hast any mind to Nan Spit, our kitchen-maid, then turn her and wind her to thy own use, as often …
Ch 1, para 28: RALPH. O, brave, Robin! shall I have Nan Spit, and to mine own use? On that condition I'll feed thy devil with horse-bread as long as he lives, …
Ch 1, para 31: ROBIN. Come, Ralph: did not I tell thee, we were for ever made by this Doctor Faustus' book? ecce, signum! here's a simple purchase for horse-keepers: our horses …
Ch 1, para 59: KNIGHT. I'faith, he looks much like a conjurer. [Aside.]
Ch 1, para 70: KNIGHT. I'faith, that's as true as Diana turned me to a stag.
Ch 1, para 100: HORSE-COURSER. Well, sir.--Now am I made man for ever: I'll not leave my horse for forty: if he had but the quality of hey-ding-ding, hey-ding-ding, I'd make a …
The play uses vivid metaphors of time, blood, and celestial bodies. Key examples include time as a runner with 'calm and silent foot' (quote 3), the face that 'launch'd a thousand ships' (quote 5), and the branch 'that might have grown full straight' (quote 8). Similes are sparse; metaphor dominates.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
the restless course That time doth run with calm and silent foot, Shortening my days and thread of vital life (Ch 1, para 87)
Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium (Ch 2, para 35)
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough (Ch 2, para 70)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 57%, sound 22%, taste 15%, touch 5%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 71 |
| sound | 27 |
| taste | 19 |
| touch | 6 |
| smell | 1 |
Sight dominates: Helen's beauty, magical visions, the Pope's curse. Sound is crucial: bells, curses, the clock striking midnight. Touch appears in the pact's blood signing. Smell and taste are absent. The play privileges visual spectacle and temporal sound.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
How! bell, book, and candle,--candle, book, and bell,-- Forward and backward, to curse Faustus to hell! (Ch 1, para 7)
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
19 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.52 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of 'bell, book, and candle' (quote 1) creates incantatory power. Lists of three appear in curses and magical invocations. The phrase 'time runs' recurs across sections 1 and 2. Patterns reinforce the play's obsession with time and damnation.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
How! bell, book, and candle,--candle, book, and bell,-- Forward and backward, to curse Faustus to hell! (Ch 1, para 7)
O lente, lente currite, noctis equi! The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike (Ch 2, para 66)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thee, thy, hath, art, doth.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 58 |
| thee | 34 |
| thy | 28 |
| hath | 20 |
| art | 12 |
| doth | 8 |
| wilt | 7 |
| shalt | 7 |
| wherefore | 5 |
| nay | 4 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The play shows rather than tells through action: Faustus's pact is enacted, not narrated; his despair emerges through his final monologue as midnight strikes. The Old Man's urging to repent is shown through dialogue and Faustus's refusal, not summary.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough (Ch 2, para 70)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Minimal description precedes action. The play opens in medias res with Faustus already bound by his pact. Settings and circumstances emerge through dialogue and stage business rather than descriptive blocks. Action drives the narrative from the start.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 1.76 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| heard | 11 |
| saw | 7 |
| thought | 3 |
| felt | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts sharply from comic (Robin's petty magic, the Horse-courser's tricks in section 1) to tragic (Faustus's despair and the Old Man's pleas in section 2). The final monologue darkens to terror as midnight approaches. Comedy undercuts the main tragedy.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now? I do repent; and yet I do despair (Ch 2, para 26)
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight, And burned is Apollo's laurel-bough (Ch 2, para 70)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy works through subplot buffoonery: Robin steals Faustus's book and fumbles conjuring; the Horse-courser is tricked and loses money; minor characters are transformed into animals. This low comedy contrasts with Faustus's high tragedy, creating ironic distance.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1
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