Book Anatomy · Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style 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: 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 70 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
11,410 different words. On average 53 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 5,337 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
gabriel, joseph, farmer, shepherd, fanny. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 15.3 words ending in 'ly' and 9.39 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 3.4% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 7.4% 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 27% of sentences: i, the, he, it, she.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 671 |
| the | 628 |
| he | 349 |
| it | 294 |
| she | 282 |
| but | 248 |
| and | 210 |
| a | 192 |
| bathsheba | 165 |
| yes | 145 |
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
236 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.71 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 2: When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging …
Ch 1, para 5: Mr. Oak carried about him, by way of watch, what may be called a small silver clock; in other words, it was a watch as to shape and …
Ch 2, para 3: Norcombe Hill—not far from lonely Toller-Down—was one of the spots which suggest to a passer-by that he is in the presence of a shape approaching the indestructible as …
Ch 2, para 4: The hill was covered on its northern side by an ancient and decaying plantation of beeches, whose upper verge formed a line over the crest, fringing its arched …
Ch 2, para 5: Between this half-wooded half-naked hill, and the vague still horizon that its summit indistinctly commanded, was a mysterious sheet of fathomless shade—the sounds from which suggested that what …
Ch 2, para 17: The inside of the hut, as it now presented itself, was cosy and alluring, and the scarlet handful of fire in addition to the candle, reflecting its own …
The book uses abundant similes and metaphors, mostly visual and emotional. Examples include Bathsheba as 'a chaise between carts' (ch12), Troy's mouth 'dipping downwards' (ch28), and Boldwood as 'an unhappy Shade' (ch34). Metaphors often compare human states to natural or mechanical forces.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 24, Ch 28, Ch 34, Ch 37, Ch 44
She moved between them as a chaise between carts, was heard after them as a romance after sermons, was felt among them like a breeze among furnaces. (Ch 12, para 4)
The circumstance had been the gentle dip of Troy’s mouth downwards upon her own. He had kissed her (Ch 28, para 53)
Throughout the whole of that night Boldwood’s dark form might have been seen walking about the hills and downs of Weatherbury like an unhappy Shade in the Mournful Fields by Acheron. (Ch 34, para 144)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 58%, sound 27%, touch 12%, taste 3%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 928 |
| sound | 436 |
| touch | 191 |
| taste | 41 |
| smell | 6 |
Sight dominates: faces, expressions, distant views. Sound appears in music (flute, singing) and natural noise (wind, rain, thunder). Touch is crucial in intimate moments. Smell and taste are rare. The book privileges visual observation and emotional sensation over other senses.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 23, Ch 28, Ch 36
Suddenly an unexpected series of sounds began to be heard in this place up against the sky. They had a clearness which was to be found nowhere in the wind (Ch 2, para 8)
On opening his eyes he found that evening had sunk to dusk in a strange manner of unexpectedness. The young girl with the remarkably pleasant lips and white teeth was beside him. (Ch 3, para 34)
Gabriel’s fingers alighted on the young woman’s wrist. It was beating with a throb of tragic intensity. (Ch 7, para 37)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
155 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.12 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in descriptions of workers and farm tasks. Repetition marks emotional states: Boldwood's obsession, Gabriel's patient devotion, Bathsheba's vanity. Patterns of arrival and departure structure the plot. The valentine motif repeats across chapters 13 to 23.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 13, Ch 15, Ch 19, Ch 23
B. E.,” which signified to all the region round that henceforth the lambs belonged to Farmer Bathsheba Everdene, and to no one else. (Ch 15, para 92)
They sheared in the great barn, called for the nonce the Shearing-barn, which on ground-plan resembled a church with transepts. (Ch 22, para 4)
For his bride a soldier sought her, And a winning tongue had he: On the banks of Allan Water None was gay as she! (Ch 23, para 37)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whilst, twas, art, hither, betwixt, thither.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whilst | 58 |
| twas | 36 |
| art | 8 |
| hither | 4 |
| betwixt | 2 |
| thither | 2 |
| thee | 1 |
| whence | 1 |
| thy | 1 |
| thou | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The narrator frequently tells character psychology directly (ch25 on Troy's nature, ch18 on Boldwood's extremism) before or instead of showing it. Key scenes like the sword exercise (ch28) and Fanny's death (ch43) are shown in full. Emotional revelations often come through dialogue and action rather than narration.
Chapters: Ch 18, Ch 25, Ch 29, Ch 37, Ch 43, Ch 59
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)
We now see the element of folly distinctly mingling with the many varying particulars which made up the character of Bathsheba Everdene (Ch 29, para 2)
This woman is more to me, dead as she is, than ever you were, or are, or can be. (Ch 43, para 65)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action. Chapter 1 describes Gabriel and the landscape before the toll-gate incident. Chapter 2 describes the winter night before the mysterious light appears. Chapter 36 describes the ricks in detail before the storm threatens them. This creates mood and stakes before events unfold.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 6, Ch 36, Ch 37, Ch 40
Oak gazed with misgiving at eight naked and unprotected ricks, massive and heavy with the rich produce of one-half the farm for that year. (Ch 36, para 5)
Heaven opened then, indeed. The flash was almost too novel for its inexpressibly dangerous nature to be at once realized, and they could only comprehend the magnificence of its beauty. (Ch 37, para 22)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.43 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 134 |
| seemed | 114 |
| heard | 108 |
| saw | 87 |
| knew | 71 |
| felt | 59 |
| noticed | 17 |
| watched | 11 |
| wondered | 9 |
| realized | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from comic observation (Gabriel's vanity diagnosis, ch1) to romantic intensity (Troy's sword exercise, ch28) to tragic despair (Fanny's death, ch43) to quiet resolution (final marriage, ch63). The narrator moves between irony, sympathy, and solemnity depending on the scene's emotional weight.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 28, Ch 43, Ch 59, Ch 63
Gabriel, perhaps a little piqued by the comely traveller’s indifference, glanced back to where he had witnessed her performance over the hedge, and said, “Vanity. (Ch 1, para 31)
The circumstance had been the gentle dip of Troy’s mouth downwards upon her own. He had kissed her (Ch 28, para 53)
This woman is more to me, dead as she is, than ever you were, or are, or can be. (Ch 43, para 65)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from character quirks: Joseph Poorgrass's weakness, Cain Ball's rambling speech, the workers' gossip. Bathsheba's vanity and impulsiveness create comic situations (the valentine, ch13). The narrator's dry observations on human folly add ironic humour. Physical comedy appears in the sheep crisis (ch21) and Troy's sword display (ch28).
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 13, Ch 21, Ch 33, Ch 42
When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears (Ch 1, para 2)
It was Wisdom in the abstract facing Folly in the concrete. (Ch 13, para 12)
Twould upset the solemnity of a parson and clerke too. (Ch 13, para 51)
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