Othello: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Othello by William Shakespeare. 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 83 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
3,804 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,133 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
thou, hath, moor, othello, desdemona. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 4.75 words ending in 'ly' and 7.66 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 2.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 1.4% 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 31% of sentences: iago, othello, i, desdemona, cassio.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| iago | 282 |
| othello | 277 |
| i | 265 |
| desdemona | 167 |
| cassio | 123 |
| o | 121 |
| emilia | 105 |
| what | 101 |
| roderigo | 62 |
| enter | 61 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 1.27 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
18 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.65 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 9: IAGO. O, sir, content you. I follow him to serve my turn upon him: We cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly follow’d. You shall …
Ch 3, para 44: And till she come, as truly as to heaven I do confess the vices of my blood, So justly to your grave ears I’ll present How I did …
Ch 3, para 85: IAGO. It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will. Come, be a man. Drown thyself? Drown cats and blind puppies. I have …
Ch 3, para 85: IAGO. It is merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will. Come, be a man. Drown thyself? Drown cats and blind puppies. I have …
Ch 4, para 106: IAGO. That Cassio loves her, I do well believe it; That she loves him, ’tis apt, and of great credit: The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not, …
Ch 5, para 53: IAGO. You see this fellow that is gone before, He is a soldier fit to stand by Cæsar And give direction: and do but see his vice, ’Tis …
Rich in metaphors and similes throughout. Jealousy is 'the green-eyed monster' (c7), the handkerchief becomes 'ocular proof', and Othello compares his love to chaos. Iago uses animal imagery ('goats and monkeys') and poison metaphors to corrupt minds.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10
O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on. (Ch 7, para 75)
Lie with her! lie on her!—We say lie on her when they belie her.—Lie with her! that’s fulsome. Handkerchief—confessions—handkerchief! (Ch 9, para 25)
Cassio shall have my place. And, sir, tonight, I do entreat that we may sup together. You are welcome, sir, to Cyprus. Goats and monkeys! (Ch 9, para 158)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 49%, sound 28%, taste 14%, touch 8%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 135 |
| sound | 78 |
| taste | 39 |
| touch | 23 |
| smell | 3 |
All five senses feature. Sight dominates (the handkerchief, Cassio's greeting). Sound includes the willow song and Cassio's laughter. Touch in the smothering scene. Smell in 'infected house' metaphor. Taste absent.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 7, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 11, Scene 13
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow. Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow. (Ch 11, para 26)
By heaven, I would most gladly have forgot it. Thou said’st (O, it comes o’er my memory, As doth the raven o’er the infected house, Boding to all) he had my handkerchief. (Ch 9, para 13)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
45 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.63 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Heavy repetition of 'handkerchief' (c8, c9, c13), 'lie' and 'whore' (c10), and 'reputation' (c5). Lists of three appear in accusations and Iago's plotting. Anaphora in Othello's jealous speeches drives emotional intensity.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 5, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 13
Lie with her! lie on her!—We say lie on her when they belie her.—Lie with her! that’s fulsome. Handkerchief—confessions—handkerchief! (Ch 9, para 25)
Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! (Ch 5, para 105)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thy, thee, hath, nay, art.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 140 |
| thy | 80 |
| thee | 76 |
| hath | 67 |
| nay | 27 |
| art | 20 |
| doth | 17 |
| prithee | 17 |
| twas | 13 |
| hither | 12 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The play shows rather than tells jealousy's corruption. Othello's transformation from confident general to murderer unfolds through scenes, not exposition. Iago's villainy revealed through soliloquies and actions, not description. Desdemona's innocence shown through her helpless protests.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 7, Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 13
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again. (Ch 7, para 42)
Was this fair paper, this most goodly book, Made to write “whore” upon? What committed? Committed! (Ch 10, para 38)
I will be hang’d, if some eternal villain, Some busy and insinuating rogue, Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office, Have not devis’d this slander. (Ch 10, para 77)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Minimal description precedes action. The play opens mid-conflict with Iago and Roderigo already plotting. Settings are named but not painted. Action and dialogue drive the story; description serves plot, not atmosphere.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 1.71 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 20 |
| heard | 14 |
| saw | 6 |
| knew | 5 |
| felt | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from political intrigue (c1 to 3) to romantic joy (c4) to creeping suspicion (c7) to murderous rage (c9 to 10) to tragic despair (c13). Comic relief in c5 and c6 contrasts sharply with the darkening main plot.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 4, Scene 7, Scene 9, Scene 13
If after every tempest come such calms, May the winds blow till they have waken’d death! (Ch 4, para 87)
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! And when I love thee not, Chaos is come again. (Ch 7, para 42)
It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul, Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars! It is the cause. (Ch 13, para 3)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is sparse and dark. Cassio's drunkenness (c5), the clown's wordplay (c6), and Bianca's jealousy (c9) provide brief relief. Humour often undercuts itself, as when Iago's 'honesty' is praised while he schemes.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 9
Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! (Ch 5, para 105)
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