Book Anatomy · Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd: Pace
16 lenses on pace for Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. 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: D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16
D1. Chapter length in words, as a chart. Count
63 chapters, median 2,011 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D2. Mean sentence length per chapter. Count
Mean 17.0 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D3. Paragraph length per chapter. Count
Paragraphs average 40 words.
Mean paragraph words, chapter by chapter
D4. Scene against summary: how much is shown live? AI
Most of the book is shown live in scenes. Chapters 1 to 4, 6 to 7, 9 to 10, 13 to 15, 19 to 24, 26 to 28, 31 to 32, 34 to 37, 39 to 43, 45 to 47, 50 to 51, 53 to 63 contain substantial dialogue and action. Summary appears in chapters 5, 8, 12, 18, 25, 33, 38, 49, 52, 54 to 55, 57 to 58, 61.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 34, Ch 43, Ch 59
D5. Action against reflection, per chapter. AI
Early chapters (1 to 10) balance action and reflection equally. Middle chapters (20 to 43) shift toward action as conflicts intensify. Late chapters (44 to 63) return to reflection as characters process consequences, especially Bathsheba's grief and Gabriel's patient devotion.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 20, Ch 43, Ch 62
Night had always been the time at which he saw Bathsheba most vividly, and through the slow hours of shadow he tenderly regarded her image now. (Ch 8, para 177)
He adored Bathsheba just the same. (Ch 22, para 60)
D6. Tension score per chapter (1 to 5) as a curve. AI
Peak 5 of 5, mean 3.4. See the full lens on the book page.
D7. Emotional arc of the whole book, matched to the six shapes. Count
Riches to rags (fall). See the full lens on the book page.
D8. Chapter endings: cliffhanger, question, reveal or quiet close. AI
38 of 63 chapters end on a hook. See the full lens on the book page.
D9. Chapter openings: in scene, in summary, or after a time jump. AI
Most chapters open in scene (1 to 4, 6 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 24, 26 to 32, 34 to 37, 39 to 43, 45 to 47, 50 to 51, 53, 56, 59 to 60, 62 to 63). Chapters 5, 8, 12, 18, 25, 33, 38, 49, 52, 54 to 55, 57 to 58, 61 open in summary. Chapter 48 opens after a time jump.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 5, Ch 33, Ch 48, Ch 63
D10. Do chapters and sentences get shorter near the climax? Count
In the last fifth, chapters run at 0.55 times the length of earlier ones, and sentences at 0.92 times. So things speed up near the end.
D11. Dialogue density against pace. Count
Link between dialogue share and chapter length: -0.03 (1 is a perfect match, 0 none). Between dialogue share and tension: -0.13.
Dialogue % per chapter, chapter by chapter
D12. Time jumps and how they are signalled. Both
17 time jump phrases in the narration, such as 'next morning' or 'years later'.
| Where | Phrase |
|---|---|
| c5p9 | next morning |
| c6p2 | Two months passed |
| c6p26 | next day |
| c20p7 | next day |
| c27p2 | next year |
| c30p6 | next day |
| c31p2 | next evening |
| c31p58 | next day |
Time jump phrases, chapter by chapter
Ch 5, para 9: One night, when Farmer Oak had returned to his house, believing there would be no further necessity for his attendance on the down, he called as usual to …
Ch 6, para 2: Two months passed away. We are brought on to a day in February, on which was held the yearly statute or hiring fair in the county-town of Casterbridge.
Ch 6, para 26: By making inquiries he learnt that there was another fair at Shottsford the next day.
Ch 20, para 7: The next day to that of the declaration she found Gabriel Oak at the bottom of her garden, grinding his shears for the sheep-shearing. All the surrounding cottages …
Ch 27, para 2: The Weatherbury bees were late in their swarming this year. It was in the latter part of June, and the day after the interview with Troy in the …
Ch 30, para 6: It was impossible to send this letter till the next day; yet to quell her uneasiness by getting it out of her hands, and so, as it were, …
Time jumps are signalled by summary passages and narrator statements. Chapter 5 jumps from autumn to winter. Chapter 6 jumps months forward with 'Gabriel, now destitute, seeks work.' Chapter 33 states 'Two weeks pass with no word.' Chapter 49 summarises months of advancement. Chapter 61 jumps past the trial with 'Boldwood is sentenced.'
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 33, Ch 49, Ch 61
Weatherbury! It was where Bathsheba had gone two months before. This information was like coming from night into noon. (Ch 6, para 29)
A week passed, and there were no tidings of Bathsheba; nor was there any explanation of her Gilpin’s rig (Ch 33, para 2)
D13. Info dump spots: long runs with no action or speech. Both
8 stretches of 900 words or more with no speech at all. These are where description, summary or backstory pile up.
| Starts at | Words | Paragraphs |
|---|---|---|
| c45p22 | 2280 | 21 |
| c46p36 | 1928 | 15 |
| c21p81 | 1397 | 12 |
| c17p12 | 1312 | 17 |
| c2p36 | 1311 | 12 |
| c49p35 | 1151 | 11 |
| c2p1 | 909 | 10 |
| c50p17 | 908 | 5 |
Long info dumps appear in chapter 25 (narrator analysis of Troy's character, two pages), chapter 18 (Boldwood's meditation, one page), and chapter 52 (Boldwood's party preparations, one page). Most chapters avoid sustained exposition by mixing action with brief reflection.
Chapters: Ch 18, Ch 25, Ch 52
He was a man to whom memories were an incumbrance, and anticipations a superfluity. Simply feeling, considering, and caring for what was before his eyes, he was vulnerable only in the present. (Ch 25, para 3)
D14. Reading time per chapter. Count
About 9.2 hours to read at 250 words a minute. The longest chapter takes 26.0 minutes.
Minutes per chapter, chapter by chapter
D15. Micro tension in quiet scenes. AI
Quiet scenes gain tension through internal conflict and unspoken emotion. Chapter 3 creates tension through Gabriel's near-death and Bathsheba's rescue. Chapter 20 builds tension through Bathsheba's guilt and Gabriel's criticism. Chapter 62 sustains tension through misunderstanding and Bathsheba's wounded pride about Gabriel's apparent departure.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 20, Ch 62
Gabriel’s fingers alighted on the young woman’s wrist. It was beating with a throb of tragic intensity. (Ch 7, para 37)
She was aggrieved and wounded that the possession of hopeless love from Gabriel, which she had grown to regard as her inalienable right for life, should have been withdrawn just at his own pleasure in this way. (Ch 62, para 43)
D16. Section breaks per chapter. Count
0 section breaks marked in the text, in 0 of 63 chapters.
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