Mrs Dalloway: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. 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 69 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
7,106 different words. On average 51 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,563 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
richard, sally, peter, william, elizabeth. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 15.12 words ending in 'ly' and 9.31 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 4.2% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.2% 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 35% of sentences: she, he, but, and, it.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| she | 358 |
| he | 262 |
| but | 262 |
| and | 206 |
| it | 179 |
| the | 162 |
| there | 94 |
| they | 85 |
| for | 81 |
| that | 54 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 1.12 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
102 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.58 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 18: What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her, when, with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she …
Ch 1, para 28: So she would still find herself arguing in St. James’s Park, still making out that she had been right--and she had too--not to marry him. For in marriage …
Ch 1, para 30: She would not say of any one in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. …
Ch 1, para 31: Her only gift was knowing people almost by instinct, she thought, walking on. If you put her in a room with some one, up went her back like …
Ch 1, para 31: Her only gift was knowing people almost by instinct, she thought, walking on. If you put her in a room with some one, up went her back like …
Ch 1, para 35: She would have been, in the first place, dark like Lady Bexborough, with a skin of crumpled leather and beautiful eyes. She would have been, like Lady Bexborough, …
Woolf uses abundant similes and metaphors, often comparing inner states to natural phenomena and social structures. Examples include Clarissa as a dispersed self, Septimus's mind as invaded territory, and emotions as flowers or water.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 8, Ch 15, Ch 20
Then came the most exquisite moment of her whole life passing a stone urn with flowers in it. Sally stopped; picked a flower; kissed her on the lips. The whole world might have turned upside down! (Ch 4, para 8)
People were beginning to compare her to poplar trees, early dawn, hyacinths, fawns, running water, and garden lilies (Ch 15, para 3)
this voice, pouring endlessly, year in year out, would take whatever it might be; this vow; this van; this life; this procession, would wrap them all about and carry them on (Ch 15, para 12)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 59%, sound 18%, touch 18%, taste 4%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 521 |
| sound | 162 |
| touch | 161 |
| taste | 31 |
| smell | 10 |
Sight dominates, tracking characters' visual impressions of London and each other. Sound appears in bells, voices, and the aeroplane. Touch, smell and taste are sparse, used sparingly for emotional intensity.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 18, Ch 19
But what was she dreaming as she looked into Hatchards’ shop window? What was she trying to recover? What image of white dawn in the country, as she read in the book spread open: (Ch 1, para 31)
The violent explosion which made Mrs. Dalloway jump and Miss Pym go to the window and apologise came from a motor car which had drawn to the side of the pavement precisely opposite Mulberry’s shop window. (Ch 2, para 7)
To whom?” he asked aloud. “To the Prime Minister,” the voices which rustled above his head replied. (Ch 8, para 3)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
70 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.09 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Woolf repeats key phrases like 'fear no more' and 'what is this' to build emotional resonance. Lists of three appear in descriptions of beauty and in catalogues of social observation. Parallel structures echo across chapters.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 15, Ch 20, Ch 21
All the same, that one day should follow another; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; that one should wake up in the morning; see the sky; walk in the park (Ch 13, para 35)
Fear no more, says the heart in the body; fear no more. (Ch 15, para 16)
Fear no more the heat of the sun. She must go back to them. But what an extraordinary night! (Ch 20, para 31)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, thy.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 7 |
| thy | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Woolf shows inner life through stream of consciousness rather than telling readers what characters feel. She demonstrates Clarissa's anxiety through her thoughts about the party, Septimus's breakdown through his perceptions, not explanation.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 8, Ch 10, Ch 13, Ch 20
But what was she dreaming as she looked into Hatchards’ shop window? What was she trying to recover? What image of white dawn in the country, as she read in the book spread open: (Ch 1, para 31)
It is I who am blocking the way, he thought. Was he not being looked at and pointed at; was he not weighted there, rooted to the pavement, for a purpose? (Ch 2, para 12)
To whom?” he asked aloud. “To the Prime Minister,” the voices which rustled above his head replied. (Ch 8, para 3)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action throughout. Woolf rarely pauses for pure description; instead she layers sensory detail and reflection into moments of movement, as when Clarissa walks through London buying flowers.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 6, Ch 18, Ch 19
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. (Ch 1, para 16)
The violent explosion which made Mrs. Dalloway jump and Miss Pym go to the window and apologise came from a motor car which had drawn to the side of the pavement precisely opposite Mulberry’s shop window. (Ch 2, para 7)
Like a woman who had slipped off her print dress and white apron to array herself in blue and pearls, the day changed, put off stuff, took gauze, changed to evening (Ch 18, para 2)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 9.28 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 252 |
| felt | 99 |
| seemed | 69 |
| knew | 65 |
| saw | 59 |
| heard | 28 |
| wondered | 12 |
| watched | 9 |
| noticed | 3 |
| realised | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from Clarissa's lyrical morning walk to Septimus's fragmented terror, then to social comedy at the party, ending in spiritual meditation. The shifts mark different consciousnesses and emotional registers.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 8, Ch 18, Ch 20
Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself. (Ch 1, para 16)
It is I who am blocking the way, he thought. Was he not being looked at and pointed at; was he not weighted there, rooted to the pavement, for a purpose? (Ch 2, para 12)
How delightful to see you!” said Clarissa. She said it to every one. How delightful to see you! She was at her worst--effusive, insincere. (Ch 18, para 15)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from social observation and character contradiction. Hugh Whitbread's pomposity, Miss Kilman's bitter piety, and Clarissa's self-aware performance as hostess create gentle irony rather than broad humour.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 14, Ch 18, Ch 19
standing formidable upon the landing in her mackintosh, she looked with steady and sinister serenity at Mrs. Dalloway (Ch 14, para 2)
How delightful to see you!” said Clarissa. She said it to every one. How delightful to see you! She was at her worst--effusive, insincere. (Ch 18, para 15)
Every time she gave a party she had this feeling of being something not herself, and that every one was unreal in one way; much more real in another. (Ch 19, para 5)
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