Frankenstein: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. 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 58 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,016 different words. On average 52 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,019 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
elizabeth, felix, miserable, fiend, misery. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 12.88 words ending in 'ly' and 14.73 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 3.3% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 14.3% 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 40% of sentences: i, the, my, but, he.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 672 |
| the | 281 |
| my | 139 |
| but | 138 |
| he | 132 |
| it | 98 |
| this | 75 |
| you | 73 |
| she | 72 |
| we | 57 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.63 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
69 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.92 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 2, para 4: But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most …
Ch 2, para 6: The master is a person of an excellent disposition and is remarkable in the ship for his gentleness and the mildness of his discipline. This circumstance, added to …
Ch 2, para 7: Yet do not suppose, because I complain a little or because I can conceive a consolation for my toils which I may never know, that I am wavering …
Ch 3, para 6: Adieu, my dear Margaret. Be assured that for my own sake, as well as yours, I will not rashly encounter danger. I will be cool, persevering, and prudent.
Ch 4, para 8: In the morning, however, as soon as it was light, I went upon deck and found all the sailors busy on one side of the vessel, apparently talking …
Ch 4, para 11: Upon hearing this he appeared satisfied and consented to come on board. Good God! Margaret, if you had seen the man who thus capitulated for his safety, your …
Shelley uses similes and metaphors extensively, often comparing Victor's emotional states to natural forces and the creature to Adam or a daemon. Examples include the creature as 'apparently united by no link to any other being' and Victor's ambition as a 'fatal passion' that destroys him.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 8, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21
Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction. (Ch 6, para 16)
Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect (Ch 19, para 7)
Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? (Ch 20, para 1)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 43%, sound 29%, touch 22%, taste 6%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 324 |
| sound | 215 |
| touch | 163 |
| taste | 47 |
| smell | 3 |
All five senses appear throughout. Sight dominates (the creature's hideous appearance, the glacier's beauty). Sound marks key moments (the creature's laugh, Elizabeth's silence). Touch conveys horror (the creature's cold hand). Smell and taste are sparse but present in descriptions of decay and nature.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 14, Ch 27, Ch 28
There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour. (Ch 1, para 4)
I saw at the open window a figure the most hideous and abhorred. A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife. (Ch 27, para 10)
I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily; the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter. (Ch 28, para 7)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
88 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.17 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of key phrases like 'I resolved' and 'cursed' marks turning points. Lists of three appear in Victor's losses (William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth). The pattern of the creature's education mirrors Victor's, creating structural symmetry across chapters 6 to 8 and 15 to 19.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 8, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 20, Ch 27
I resolved to remain silent. (Ch 11, para 32)
Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? (Ch 20, para 1)
Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy—to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim (Ch 20, para 30)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thy, thou, thee, whilst, art, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thy | 18 |
| thou | 14 |
| thee | 10 |
| whilst | 9 |
| art | 7 |
| nay | 6 |
| whence | 4 |
| wherefore | 3 |
| thine | 3 |
| doth | 2 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Shelley shows emotion through action and physical detail rather than stating it. Victor's illness after creating the creature (chapter 9) demonstrates his horror without explicit confession. The creature's rejection by the De Lacey family (chapter 19) is shown through his actions, not his words about despair.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 19, Ch 24, Ch 27
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. (Ch 9, para 1)
Agatha fainted, and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father (Ch 19, para 38)
She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair. (Ch 27, para 8)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially in chapters on natural settings and the creature's education. Chapter 13 describes the Alpine valleys before Victor acts. Chapters 15 to 19 describe the creature's observations and learning before his attempt to contact the family.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 19
There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour. (Ch 1, para 4)
The blue lake and snow-clad mountains—they never change; and I think our placid home and our contented hearts are regulated by the same immutable laws. (Ch 10, para 5)
The family, after having been thus occupied for a short time, extinguished their lights and retired, as I conjectured, to rest. (Ch 15, para 18)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.1 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 94 |
| felt | 80 |
| thought | 74 |
| heard | 62 |
| seemed | 36 |
| knew | 32 |
| watched | 4 |
| realised | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from Walton's hopeful ambition (letters 1 to 4) to Victor's tragic retrospection (chapters 5 to 28). Within Victor's narrative, tone darkens from childhood wonder (chapter 6) through obsessive fever (chapter 8) to despair and madness (chapters 24 to 28). The creature's voice in chapters 15 to 20 is eloquent but increasingly bitter.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 8, Ch 15, Ch 24, Ch 28
This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. (Ch 1, para 5)
Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction. (Ch 6, para 16)
Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? (Ch 20, para 1)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal and dark. Walton's earnest ambition contrasts ironically with his rescue of a dying man fleeing the very thing he seeks. The creature's eloquence in demanding a mate (chapter 21) creates grim irony: his logic is sound but his request monstrous. No light humour appears.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 21
What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man? (Ch 3, para 7)
You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being (Ch 21, para 2)
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