Book Anatomy · Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. 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 73 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
5,473 different words. On average 53 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,884 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
manager, ivory, river, pilgrims, station. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 14.06 words ending in 'ly' and 13.11 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 3.9% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.4% 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 44% of sentences: i, the, he, it, and.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 440 |
| the | 222 |
| he | 207 |
| it | 141 |
| and | 76 |
| they | 63 |
| you | 56 |
| we | 53 |
| but | 53 |
| a | 45 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.83 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
97 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.5 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 2: The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway. In the offing the sea and the sky were welded together without a …
Ch 1, para 4: Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea. Besides holding our hearts together through long periods of separation, it had the …
Ch 1, para 9: He was the only man of us who still “followed the sea.” The worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class. …
Ch 1, para 9: He was the only man of us who still “followed the sea.” The worst that could be said of him was that he did not represent his class. …
Ch 1, para 10: His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence. No one took the trouble to grunt even; and presently …
Ch 1, para 10: His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence. No one took the trouble to grunt even; and presently …
Abundant metaphors of darkness, light, and the river as a living force. Similes compare Kurtz's eloquence to seduction and the wilderness to a test of character. Metaphors dominate: the heart of darkness, the river as a path into the soul, restraint as a shield.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. (Ch 2, para 7)
The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. (Ch 2, para 8)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 60%, sound 31%, touch 8%, taste 0%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 392 |
| sound | 198 |
| touch | 54 |
| taste | 3 |
| smell | 2 |
Sight dominates: dense jungle, heads on stakes, the river's murk. Sound is crucial: Kurtz's voice, native drums, silence. Smell and touch appear sparingly. Taste is absent. The sensory world emphasises visual horror and the power of voice.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3
These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing (Ch 3, para 4)
The horror! The horror! (Ch 3, para 43)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
41 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.06 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of 'darkness', 'restraint', 'eloquence' and 'horror' anchors the themes. Lists of three appear in descriptions of the Company's agents and Marlow's moral struggles. Patterns of advance and retreat structure the upriver journey.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. (Ch 2, para 7)
The horror! The horror! (Ch 3, para 43)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 1 |
| nay | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Conrad shows rather than tells through Marlow's encounters: the heads on stakes reveal Kurtz's corruption without explanation; the Russian's devotion shows Kurtz's seductive power; Marlow's lie to the Intended demonstrates his moral choice without stating its meaning.
Chapters: Ch 3
These round knobs were not ornamental but symbolic; they were expressive and puzzling, striking and disturbing (Ch 3, para 4)
The last word he pronounced was—your name. (Ch 3, para 85)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action throughout. Chapter 2 opens with description of the river and jungle, then moves to the attack. Chapter 3 balances Marlow's reflections on Kurtz with the retrieval and death scenes. Reflection precedes and follows action.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3
We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. (Ch 2, para 7)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 6.53 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| seemed | 69 |
| saw | 47 |
| heard | 47 |
| thought | 32 |
| felt | 22 |
| knew | 21 |
| watched | 7 |
| noticed | 6 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from curious and detached in Chapter 1 to increasingly horrified in Chapter 2, reaching despair in Chapter 3. The final scene with the Intended adopts a quieter, more melancholic tone. Marlow's voice grows weary and reflective.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
The horror! The horror! (Ch 3, para 43)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal and dark. The accountant's obsession with ledgers amid chaos, the pilgrims' ineffectual rifle fire, and the manager's petty jealousy of Kurtz provide grim irony. Humour serves to undercut the Company's pretensions.
Chapters: Ch 2
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