Book Anatomy · The Great God Pan
The Great God Pan: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. 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 70 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
3,315 different words. On average 51 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,825 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
herbert, helen, street, villiers, austin. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 12.78 words ending in 'ly' and 9.65 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 3.7% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 6.8% 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 36% of sentences: i, the, it, he, you.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 157 |
| the | 92 |
| it | 64 |
| he | 52 |
| you | 46 |
| but | 36 |
| yes | 33 |
| villiers | 32 |
| and | 25 |
| clarke | 24 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.75 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
14 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.64 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 13: “Yes; a slight lesion in the grey matter, that is all; a trifling rearrangement of certain cells, a microscopical alteration that would escape the attention of ninety-nine brain …
Ch 1, para 35: The doctor stooped and kissed her mouth, kindly enough. “Now shut your eyes,” he said. The girl closed her eyelids, as if she were tired, and longed for …
Ch 3, para 24: The man went out into the bitter night, and Villiers returned to his fireside. There was something about Herbert which shocked him inexpressibly; not his poor rags nor …
Ch 3, para 24: The man went out into the bitter night, and Villiers returned to his fireside. There was something about Herbert which shocked him inexpressibly; not his poor rags nor …
Ch 3, para 31: “Well, a gentleman, a man of very good position, was found dead, stark dead, in the area of a certain house in Paul Street, off Tottenham Court Road. …
Ch 4, para 13: “I have always been rather fond of going over empty houses; there’s a sort of fascination about the desolate empty rooms, with the nails sticking in the walls, …
Machen uses similes and metaphors sparingly but powerfully, mostly comparing Helen to supernatural or bestial forms. Key examples: Helen as a 'nest of Chinese boxes' (chapter 3), the veil between worlds, and descriptions of her true form as neither human nor beast.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 8
A case like this is like a nest of Chinese boxes; you open one after the other and find a quainter workmanship in every box. (Ch 3, para 24)
I was then privileged or accursed, I dare not say which, to see that which was on the bed, lying there black like ink, transformed before my eyes. (Ch 8, para 5)
as a horrible and unspeakable shape, neither man nor beast, was changed into human form, there came finally death. (Ch 8, para 9)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 64%, sound 21%, touch 10%, smell 3%, taste 2%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 255 |
| sound | 83 |
| touch | 41 |
| smell | 13 |
| taste | 6 |
Sight dominates throughout, especially descriptions of Helen's appearance and the horrified faces of her victims. Sound appears in dialogue and screams. Smell, touch and taste are minimal, though physical violation is implied in chapter 1.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 8
I knew I had looked into the eyes of a lost soul, Austin, the man’s outward form remained, but all hell was within it. (Ch 6, para 52)
it was a devil’s face I looked upon. (Ch 6, para 52)
I was then privileged or accursed, I dare not say which, to see that which was on the bed, lying there black like ink, transformed before my eyes. (Ch 8, para 5)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
30 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.38 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of Helen's multiple identities (Mary, Helen V., Helen Vaughan, Mrs. Beaumont, Raymond) creates pattern. Lists of three appear in suicide victims and in descriptions of Helen's corrupting influence on groups of men.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7
This word—‘Helen’—was written on the back. Didn’t I tell you her name was Helen? Yes; Helen Vaughan. (Ch 4, para 32)
you and I know her better under another name. (Ch 7, para 8)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: whence, art, nay.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| whence | 3 |
| art | 1 |
| nay | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Machen shows horror through witness accounts and physical reactions rather than direct description. Chapter 3 shows Herbert's ruin through his appearance as a beggar; chapter 6 shows Crashaw's terror through Villiers' observation of his face leaving the house.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 6, Ch 7
I have seen the incredible, such horrors that even I myself sometimes stop in the middle of the street and ask whether it is possible for a man to behold such things and live. (Ch 3, para 14)
I knew I had looked into the eyes of a lost soul, Austin, the man’s outward form remained, but all hell was within it. (Ch 6, para 52)
it was a devil’s face I looked upon. (Ch 6, para 52)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. Chapter 1 opens with Raymond's experiment in progress; chapter 3 reveals Helen through Herbert's physical state and behaviour; chapter 5 reveals her through the discovery of Meyrick's drawings.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 5
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 9.7 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| saw | 66 |
| seemed | 35 |
| thought | 31 |
| heard | 29 |
| knew | 23 |
| felt | 18 |
| watched | 5 |
| wondered | 2 |
| noticed | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from clinical detachment in chapter 1 to mounting horror in chapters 2 and 3, then to investigative urgency in chapters 4 to 7, ending with grim finality in chapter 8's revelations. Clarke's narration grows increasingly disturbed.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 8
she is a hopeless idiot. However, it could not be helped; and, after all, she has seen the Great God Pan. (Ch 1, para 40)
I have seen the incredible, such horrors that even I myself sometimes stop in the middle of the street and ask whether it is possible for a man to behold such things and live. (Ch 3, para 14)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal and dark. Villiers' pursuit of Helen through London society offers slight irony in chapters 5 and 6, where respectable society hosts a monster. Otherwise the book maintains horror throughout.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6
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