The Last Man: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Last Man by Mary Shelley. 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 55 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
12,230 different words. On average 55 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 4,670 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
raymond, plague, clara, windsor, adrian. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 9.26 words ending in 'ly' and 13.97 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 3.2% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 14.9% 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 34% of sentences: i, the, he, she, we.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 739 |
| the | 666 |
| he | 279 |
| she | 266 |
| we | 262 |
| but | 194 |
| it | 192 |
| in | 136 |
| a | 123 |
| my | 111 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.63 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
97 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 0.57 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 9: I, the elder of the two, was five years old when my mother died. A remembrance of the discourses of my parents, and the communications which my mother …
Ch 1, para 13: Yet though lovely and full of noble feeling, my poor Perdita (for this was the fanciful name my sister had received from her dying parent), was not altogether …
Ch 1, para 14: Although by our situation and dispositions we were almost equally cut off from the usual forms of social intercourse, we formed a strong contrast to each other. I …
Ch 1, para 19: I revolved again and again all that I remembered my mother to have told me of my father’s former life; I contemplated the few relics I possessed belonging …
Ch 1, para 19: I revolved again and again all that I remembered my mother to have told me of my father’s former life; I contemplated the few relics I possessed belonging …
Ch 2, para 4: I was beyond measure disturbed by this intelligence. It roused all my dormant recollections, my suspended sentiments of injury, and gave rise to the new one of revenge. …
Shelley uses extensive similes and metaphors, often comparing human states to natural phenomena and classical imagery. Examples include England as a 'vast and well-manned ship' (c1), the plague as Homer's Calamity treading hearts (c20), and love as a prophet's rod swallowing minor propensities (c10).
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 10, Ch 20
England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship (Ch 1, para 1)
Our enemy, like the Calamity of Homer, trod our hearts, and no sound was echoed from her steps (Ch 20, para 1)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 47%, sound 27%, touch 19%, taste 6%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 790 |
| sound | 442 |
| touch | 317 |
| taste | 101 |
| smell | 14 |
Sight dominates throughout, with vivid descriptions of faces, landscapes, and corpses. Sound appears in thunder and human voices. Touch conveys plague's horror through rigid limbs and stony eyes. Smell and taste are largely absent, reflecting the novel's focus on visual and emotional perception.
Chapters: Ch 17, Ch 28
This indeed was the plague. I raised his rigid limbs, I marked the distortion of his face, and the stony eyes lost to perception. (Ch 17, para 11)
Behold us now in our frail tenement, hemmed in by hungry, roaring waves, buffeted by winds. In the inky east two vast clouds, sailing contrary ways, met; the lightning leapt forth, and the hoarse thunder muttered (Ch 28, para 13)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
323 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.91 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Shelley employs lists of three frequently: 'fire, and war, and plague' (c11); 'life and death' as sole good and evil (c18); 'hope and light-heartedness' (c8). Repetition of key phrases like 'the last man' and 'farewell' creates rhythmic emphasis on loss and finality.
Chapters: Ch 8, Ch 11, Ch 18
Fire, and war, and plague, unite for thy destruction—O my Raymond, there is no safety for thee! (Ch 11, para 34)
There was but one good and one evil in the world—life and death. The pomp of rank, the assumption of power, the possessions of wealth vanished like morning mist (Ch 18, para 63)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thy, thou, thee, nay, art, shew.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thy | 52 |
| thou | 45 |
| thee | 28 |
| nay | 23 |
| art | 16 |
| shew | 12 |
| thither | 11 |
| wherefore | 10 |
| methinks | 9 |
| ere | 8 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Shelley shows character through action and dialogue rather than summary. Lionel's transformation by Adrian is shown through scenes of kindness (c2), not told. Perdita's grief is enacted through her refusal to leave Raymond's tomb (c13) rather than described directly.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 13
He would come triumphantly to the district to which my parent had fled broken-hearted (Ch 2, para 4)
I stay here; force only can remove me. Be it so; drag me away—I return; confine me, imprison me, still I escape, and come here. (Ch 13, para 27)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially in early chapters establishing character and setting. However, as plague advances, description and action interweave more tightly. The novel shifts from leisurely exposition to urgent narrative as catastrophe accelerates.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 14, Ch 28
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.17 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 144 |
| saw | 130 |
| felt | 124 |
| seemed | 109 |
| heard | 95 |
| knew | 63 |
| watched | 31 |
| wondered | 7 |
| realized | 2 |
| noticed | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from intimate and romantic in early chapters to increasingly apocalyptic and elegiac. The shift peaks at chapter 14 when plague arrives, moving from personal drama to cosmic tragedy. Final chapters adopt a meditative, solitary tone befitting the last man.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 14, Ch 28, Ch 29
Hope is dead! We are but mourners in the funeral train, and what immortal essence or perishable creation will refuse to make one in the sad procession that attends to its grave the dead comforter of humanity? (Ch 19, para 39)
I remained alone of my race,—that I was the LAST MAN (Ch 28, para 22)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal and largely absent after chapter 6. Early chapters contain light moments in Lionel's wild youth and Adrian's kindness. The novel's tragic arc leaves little room for humour, though occasional irony appears in human folly amid plague.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6
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