Book Anatomy · Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Journey to the Centre of the Earth: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne. 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 65 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,694 different words. On average 53 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,496 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
uncle, professor, raft, earth, guide. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 16.28 words ending in 'ly' and 18.59 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 3.6% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 7.7% 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: i, the, it, my, we.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 764 |
| the | 495 |
| it | 271 |
| my | 225 |
| we | 200 |
| but | 187 |
| he | 130 |
| this | 119 |
| what | 104 |
| in | 95 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.64 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
164 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.91 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 33: "About as easy as German?" was my insidious remark.
Ch 1, para 42: And my uncle ought to have known, for he was a perfect polyglot dictionary in himself. He did not pretend, like a certain learned pundit, to speak the …
Ch 3, para 16: It came upon me like a flash of lightning. I had got the clue. All you had to do to understand the document was to read it backwards. …
Ch 3, para 20: What horror and stupefaction took possession of my soul. I was like a man who had received a knock-down blow. Was it possible that I really read the …
Ch 4, para 6: "A peninsula--very like a thighbone in shape."
Ch 5, para 18: It was impossible to dispute the dictatorial commands of my uncle. I yielded with a groan. On payment of a fee, a verger gave us the key. He, …
Verne uses similes frequently to describe underground phenomena: the stream as a 'familiar spirit' (ch21), the sea as exempt from 'the general law' (ch28), and the volcano's eruption as a 'bristling battery' (ch12). Metaphors include the earth as antagonist and the journey as spiritual transformation.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 21, Ch 28
I could not but compare it to some familiar spirit, guiding us through the earth, and I dabbled my fingers in its tepid water, which sang like a naiad as we progressed. (Ch 21, para 7)
Why should this vast underground sea be exempt from the general law, the rule of the universe (Ch 28, para 10)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 54%, sound 28%, touch 14%, taste 3%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 504 |
| sound | 266 |
| touch | 128 |
| taste | 27 |
| smell | 10 |
All five senses feature strongly. Sight dominates (crystal formations, prehistoric creatures, light versus darkness). Sound marks key moments (voices through rock, geyser roar, explosion). Touch and taste appear in survival scenes (thirst, hunger). Smell is minimal, fitting the sterile underground.
Chapters: Ch 15, Ch 25, Ch 32, Ch 41
do I not see the light of day? do I not hear the whistling of the wind? and can I not distinguish the wash of a great sea (Ch 26, para 38)
About twelve o'clock a distant sound as of thunder fell upon our ears. (Ch 31, para 5)
Hunger, prolonged, is temporary madness! The brain is at work without its required food (Ch 41, para 2)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
119 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.38 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear in equipment inventories (ch8) and survival trials. Repetition of 'Arne Saknussemm' anchors the plot across chapters 1 to 44. The phrase 'descend, audas viator' echoes throughout. Patterns of descent-ascent structure the whole arc.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 8, Ch 37, Ch 44
In Sneffels Yoculis craterem kem delibat umbra Scartaris Julii intra calendas descende, audas viator, et terrestre centrum attinges. Kod feci. Arne Saknussemm (Ch 3, para 59)
A. S.!" cried my uncle. "You see, I was right. Arne Saknussemm, always Arne Saknussemm! (Ch 37, para 37)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, art, thou, whilst, nay, hither.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 7 |
| art | 2 |
| thou | 1 |
| whilst | 1 |
| nay | 1 |
| hither | 1 |
| thither | 1 |
| ere | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Verne shows rather than tells Harry's fear through physical collapse (ch19, ch24) and separation (ch23). The underground sea is revealed through Harry's sensory experience (ch26 to 27) rather than exposition. The compass mystery is shown through action before explanation (ch44).
Chapters: Ch 19, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 26, Ch 44
Suddenly I felt a deadly faintness come over me. My eyes could no longer see; my knees shook. I gave one despairing cry--and fell! (Ch 19, para 14)
I fell a heavy inert mass along the side of the tunnel, and lost consciousness (Ch 24, para 34)
do I not see the light of day? do I not hear the whistling of the wind? and can I not distinguish the wash of a great sea (Ch 26, para 38)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description and action are tightly woven. Verne rarely pauses for pure description; instead, landscape details emerge as the party moves through it. The underground sea (ch27) and fossil plain (ch34) are discovered through exploration, not static description.
Chapters: Ch 27, Ch 34
Now, Harry," cried the Professor, in an enthusiastic tone of voice, "we are truly about to take our first step into the Interior of the Earth; never before visited by man since the first creation of the world. (Ch 15, para 26)
a large field, more even than a field, a plain of bones, appeared suddenly before our eyes! (Ch 34, para 35)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 3.55 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 71 |
| saw | 50 |
| seemed | 47 |
| heard | 45 |
| felt | 42 |
| knew | 30 |
| noticed | 8 |
| watched | 6 |
| realized | 4 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from domestic comedy (ch1 to 3) to scientific enthusiasm (ch4, ch7) to survival horror (ch19 to 24) to wonder (ch26 to 27) to catastrophe (ch39 to 42) to triumph (ch43 to 44). The Professor's obsession provides comic relief even in danger.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 19, Ch 26, Ch 39, Ch 44
I Declare," cried my uncle, striking the table fiercely with his fist, "I declare to you it is Runic--and contains some wonderful secret, which I must get at, at any price. (Ch 2, para 2)
I do not believe in the dangers and difficulties which you, Henry, seem to multiply; and the only way to learn, is like Arne Saknussemm, to go and see. (Ch 4, para 31)
I was literally buried alive; with no other expectation before me but to die in all the slow horrible torture of hunger and thirst (Ch 24, para 2)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from the Professor's single-minded obsession overriding all objections, Harry's reluctance and fear contrasted with the Professor's confidence, and Hans's phlegmatic calm. The compass reversal (ch44) provides ironic humour at the end.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 11, Ch 44
I Declare," cried my uncle, striking the table fiercely with his fist, "I declare to you it is Runic--and contains some wonderful secret, which I must get at, at any price. (Ch 2, para 2)
I do not believe in the dangers and difficulties which you, Henry, seem to multiply; and the only way to learn, is like Arne Saknussemm, to go and see. (Ch 4, para 31)
Well, as long as you see them thus, you have nothing to fear from the volcano. (Ch 11, para 41)
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