Book Anatomy · King Solomon's Mines
King Solomon's Mines: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard. 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 71 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,038 different words. On average 52 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,182 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
henry, king, mountains, thou, spear. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 11.85 words ending in 'ly' and 7.8 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 8.9% 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, it, the, we, then.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 341 |
| it | 233 |
| the | 216 |
| we | 139 |
| then | 120 |
| but | 117 |
| as | 75 |
| he | 74 |
| at | 67 |
| and | 67 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.69 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
110 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.34 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 4: Second reason: Because I am laid up here at Durban with the pain in my left leg. Ever since that confounded lion got hold of me I have …
Ch 1, para 21: Captain Good and I went down to dinner together, and there we found Sir Henry Curtis already seated. He and Captain Good were placed together, and I sat …
Ch 1, para 35: “Yes,” said Sir Henry, “your letter was forwarded to me. You said in it that the gentleman called Neville left Bamangwato at the beginning of May in a …
Ch 3, para 2: It takes from four to five days, according to the speed of the vessel and the state of the weather, to run up from the Cape to Durban. …
Ch 3, para 55: “They make a good pair, don’t they?” said Good; “one as big as the other.”
Ch 4, para 10: As we emerged into this river-bed path suddenly we started a troop of tall giraffes, who galloped, or rather sailed off, in their strange gait, their tails screwed …
Haggard uses similes and metaphors throughout, often comparing African landscapes to familiar objects (the road like a turnpike, the skeleton like Death itself) and characters to animals or mythic figures (Sir Henry as an ancient Dane). Most are visual and serve to make the exotic comprehensible to Victorian readers.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 14, Ch 16
there, winding away towards the plain, was what appeared to be a wide turnpike road. (Ch 7, para 40)
There he stood, the great Dane, for he was nothing else, his hands, his axe, and his armour all red with blood, and none could live before his stroke. (Ch 14, para 34)
There at the end of the long stone table, holding in his skeleton fingers a great white spear, sat Death himself, shaped in the form of a colossal human skeleton, fifteen feet or more in height. (Ch 16, para 48)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 61%, sound 23%, touch 10%, taste 4%, smell 2%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 631 |
| sound | 243 |
| touch | 105 |
| taste | 43 |
| smell | 20 |
Sight dominates overwhelmingly, with vivid descriptions of landscapes, battles, and treasures. Sound appears in battle cries and dialogue. Touch and taste are minimal; smell is nearly absent. The book privileges visual spectacle.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 16
Never shall I forget the sight afforded by those three towering peaks in the early sunlight of the following morning. High, high above us, up into the blue air, soared their twisted snow-wreaths. (Ch 16, para 2)
There at the end of the long stone table, holding in his skeleton fingers a great white spear, sat Death himself, shaped in the form of a colossal human skeleton, fifteen feet or more in height. (Ch 16, para 48)
Nanzia Incubu! Nanzia Unkungunklovo!” (Here is the Elephant!) “Chiele! Chiele! (Ch 13, para 16)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
83 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.01 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear frequently: three white men, three servants, three peaks. Repetition of key phrases like 'the treasure' and 'the mines' builds momentum. Patterns of danger, survival, and revelation structure each chapter.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 16
We are men, thou and I. (Ch 3, para 57)
And now, Infadoos, choose thou. Wilt thou put thy hands between my hands and be my man? (Ch 10, para 27)
I will strike at Twala this day, and set my fortunes on the blow, ay, and my life—my life and your lives also. (Ch 13, para 41)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thee, thy, art, nay, whilst.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 158 |
| thee | 59 |
| thy | 44 |
| art | 27 |
| nay | 24 |
| whilst | 22 |
| shalt | 14 |
| wilt | 12 |
| whence | 9 |
| hither | 9 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Haggard shows action directly: battles unfold in scenes, not summaries. He tells character emotion sparingly but shows it through dialogue and physical detail. The eclipse is shown, not reported; Twala's death is witnessed, not narrated.
Chapters: Ch 11, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 17
There was a shriek of excitement from a thousand throats, and, behold! Twala’s head seemed to spring from his shoulders: then it fell and came rolling and bounding along the ground towards Ignosi, stopping just at his feet. (Ch 14, para 77)
Never shall I forget that supreme, that superb moment of relief. (Ch 11, para 93)
He rose and stamped upon the place, and a flame of hope shot up in our hearts. It rang hollow. (Ch 18, para 27)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially of landscapes and locations. Chapters 5, 6, and 16 describe terrain before events occur there. However, battle chapters (13, 14) mix description and action closely, prioritising momentum.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 16, Ch 13, Ch 14
Never shall I forget the sight afforded by those three towering peaks in the early sunlight of the following morning. High, high above us, up into the blue air, soared their twisted snow-wreaths. (Ch 16, para 2)
We were buried in the bowels of a huge snow-clad peak. Thousands of feet above us the fresh air rushed over the white snow, but no sound of it reached us. (Ch 18, para 2)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.21 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 87 |
| seemed | 67 |
| heard | 59 |
| thought | 56 |
| knew | 37 |
| felt | 20 |
| watched | 9 |
| noticed | 8 |
| realised | 1 |
| wondered | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from adventure and humour in early chapters (Good's false teeth) to horror in the witch-hunt (chapter 10) and despair in the sealed chamber (chapter 17). The final chapter returns to relief and reunion, ending on warmth.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 10, Ch 17, Ch 20
Turning his head slowly and with a gesture of ineffable contempt, Good swept his hand across his mouth. Then he grinned again, and lo, there were two rows of lovely teeth. (Ch 7, para 76)
It is the great witch-hunt, and many will be smelt out as wizards and slain. (Ch 10, para 6)
We were buried in the bowels of a huge snow-clad peak. Thousands of feet above us the fresh air rushed over the white snow, but no sound of it reached us. (Ch 18, para 2)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is sparse and mostly physical: Good's false teeth impressing the Kukuanas, his lost trousers being recovered, Quatermain's dry asides. Humour serves to humanise the men and provide relief from danger, not to dominate.
Chapters: Ch 7, Ch 12
Turning his head slowly and with a gesture of ineffable contempt, Good swept his hand across his mouth. Then he grinned again, and lo, there were two rows of lovely teeth. (Ch 7, para 76)
I sent for them,” explained Infadoos; “and also for these,” and he lifted up Good’s long-lost trousers. (Ch 12, para 5)
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