Book Anatomy · The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. 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 64 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
4,187 different words. On average 50 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,964 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
isabella, thou, princess, prince, castle. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 8.58 words ending in 'ly' and 12.76 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 3.1% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 8.6% 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, the, he, manfred, my.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 162 |
| the | 143 |
| he | 70 |
| manfred | 57 |
| my | 45 |
| but | 45 |
| what | 44 |
| she | 40 |
| it | 39 |
| oh | 37 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.71 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
22 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.63 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 1: Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda. Conrad, the son, was three years younger, …
Ch 1, para 13: Matilda, who doted on her mother, smothered her own grief and amazement, and thought of nothing but assisting and comforting her afflicted parent. Isabella, who had been treated …
Ch 1, para 62: She trod as softly as impatience would give her leave, yet frequently stopped and listened to hear if she was followed. In one of those moments she thought …
Ch 1, para 65: At last, as softly as was possible, she felt for the door, and having found it, entered trembling into the vault from whence she had heard the sigh …
Ch 1, para 97: “A door clapped,” said the peasant; “I heard it as well as you.”
Ch 1, para 155: “It was Diego saw it, my Lord, it was not I,” replied Jaquez; “I only heard the noise. Diego had no sooner opened the door, than he cried …
Few explicit similes or metaphors. The book relies on Gothic imagery and supernatural events rather than figurative language. Descriptions tend toward direct statement of the marvellous and terrible.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 5
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sound 52%, sight 33%, touch 12%, taste 4%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sound | 157 |
| sight | 100 |
| touch | 35 |
| taste | 11 |
| smell | 1 |
Sight dominates: portraits, helmets, apparitions, and visual portents. Sound appears in trumpets and hollow voices. Touch in physical pursuit and violence. Smell and taste are absent.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5
the sable plumes on the enchanted helmet, which still remained at the other end of the court, were tempestuously agitated, and nodded thrice, as if bowed by some invisible wearer (Ch 2, para 160)
Hippolita!” replied a hollow voice; “camest thou to this castle to seek Hippolita?” and then the figure, turning slowly round, discovered to Frederic the fleshless jaws and empty sockets of a skeleton, wrapt in a hermit’s cowl. (Ch 5, para 61)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
16 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.46 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Patterns of three appear: three drops of blood from Alfonso's statue, the helmet nods thrice. Lists are sparse. Repetition of supernatural signs and the helmet's recurrence structure the plot.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 5
It is done,” replied Manfred; “Frederic accepts Matilda’s hand, and is content to waive his claim, unless I have no male issue”—as he spoke those words three drops of blood fell from the nose of Alfonso’s statue. (Ch 4, para 137)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thy, thee, art, ere, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 193 |
| thy | 139 |
| thee | 89 |
| art | 48 |
| ere | 12 |
| nay | 11 |
| whence | 9 |
| thither | 9 |
| hither | 6 |
| wilt | 4 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
The book shows action directly through dialogue and scene. Manfred's tyranny is revealed through his coercive behaviour toward Jerome and Isabella rather than narration. Supernatural events are presented as witnessed fact.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5
No, this shall prevent it!” cried the tyrant, drawing his dagger, and plunging it over her shoulder into the bosom of the person that spoke. (Ch 5, para 76)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and woven into action. The castle and its passages are revealed through characters moving through them. Gothic atmosphere emerges from events rather than static scene-setting.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.96 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| heard | 59 |
| thought | 34 |
| saw | 25 |
| knew | 22 |
| seemed | 21 |
| felt | 11 |
| noticed | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from domestic drama in Chapter 1 to supernatural horror in Chapters 2 and 3, then to tragic intensity in Chapters 4 and 5. The final chapter moves toward solemn resolution.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 5
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal. A light moment occurs when Bianca reports seeing a giant hand, treated with some irony. The book is primarily serious and tragic in intent.
Chapters: Ch 5
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