Book Anatomy · The Call of Cthulhu
The Call of Cthulhu: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft. 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 50 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
3,141 different words. On average 57 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,935 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
professor, dreams, alert, manuscript, april. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 18.72 words ending in 'ly' and 20.05 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 3.5% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 13.3% 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: the, it, he, i, but.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| the | 61 |
| it | 26 |
| he | 22 |
| i | 20 |
| but | 13 |
| they | 12 |
| this | 12 |
| there | 12 |
| then | 11 |
| what | 11 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.54 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
9 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.75 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 22: It was from the artists and poets that the pertinent answers came, and I know that panic would have broken loose had they been able to compare notes. …
Ch 2, para 6: Totally separate and apart, its very material was a mystery; for the soapy, greenish-black stone with its golden or iridescent flecks and striations resembled nothing familiar to geology …
Ch 2, para 8: Professor Webb had been engaged, forty-eight years before, in a tour of Greenland and Iceland in search of some Runic inscriptions which he failed to unearth; and whilst …
Ch 2, para 13: And now, in response to a general urgent demand, Inspector Legrasse related as fully as possible his experience with the swamp worshipers; telling a story to which I …
Ch 3, para 33: This was all, together with the picture of the hellish image; but what a train of ideas it started in my mind! Here were new treasuries of data …
Ch 4, para 14: It was Rodriguez the Portuguese who climbed up the foot of the monolith and shouted of what he had found. The rest followed him, and looked curiously at …
Lovecraft uses similes sparingly but memorably, comparing the bas-relief to an octopus, dragon, and human caricature (quote 2). Metaphors are rare; the prose favours direct description of cosmic horror rather than figurative language.
Chapters: Ch 1
If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. (Ch 1, para 13)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 49%, sound 28%, touch 19%, smell 2%, taste 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 49 |
| sound | 28 |
| touch | 19 |
| smell | 2 |
| taste | 1 |
Sight dominates throughout, with detailed visual descriptions of the bas-relief, statuette, and Johansen's observations of R'lyeh. Sound appears minimally. Smell, touch, and taste are nearly absent, reflecting the narrator's documentary approach.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4
The figure, which was finally passed slowly from man to man for close and careful study, was between seven and eight inches in height, and of exquisitely artistic workmanship. (Ch 2, para 5)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
14 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.16 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lovecraft repeats key phrases like 'Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn' (quote 5) across sections to build dread. Lists of three appear in descriptions of the bas-relief (quote 2) and ancient cities (quote 7). Repetition of 'dreams' and 'waits' creates rhythmic horror.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 4
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. (Ch 2, para 10)
They all lay in stone houses in Their great city of R'lyeh, preserved by the spells of mighty Cthulhu for a glorious resurrection when the stars and the earth might once more be ready for Them. (Ch 2, para 28)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whilst, art.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whilst | 12 |
| art | 3 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The book relies heavily on telling through documents, manuscripts, and the narrator's summaries rather than showing scenes. Key events like Johansen's encounter with Cthulhu are revealed through his written account in chapter 4, not dramatised action.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description precedes action throughout. Chapter 1 describes the bas-relief and Wilcox's dreams before any investigation begins. Chapter 2 details the statuette extensively before revealing the cult's rituals. This creates mounting dread before events unfold.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2
The figure, which was finally passed slowly from man to man for close and careful study, was between seven and eight inches in height, and of exquisitely artistic workmanship. (Ch 2, para 5)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.82 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| seemed | 12 |
| felt | 10 |
| knew | 9 |
| saw | 8 |
| thought | 8 |
| heard | 8 |
| wondered | 2 |
| watched | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from scholarly curiosity in chapter 1 to growing unease in chapter 2, then to cosmic dread in chapters 3 and 4. The final section adopts a resigned, fatalistic tone as the narrator accepts his doom.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Not a feature of this book. The narrative contains no humour; Lovecraft maintains a consistently grave, serious tone throughout to reinforce the horror.
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