The Moonstone: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. 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 71 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
8,836 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 3,327 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
sergeant, diamond, rachel, godfrey, indians. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 13.19 words ending in 'ly' and 8.72 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 5.2% 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 32% of sentences: i, the, he, franklin, it.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 1906 |
| the | 870 |
| he | 502 |
| franklin | 449 |
| it | 361 |
| she | 341 |
| you | 320 |
| my | 294 |
| in | 264 |
| but | 254 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.69 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
283 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.49 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 3, para 5: There was riot and confusion enough in the treasury, but no violence that I saw. The men (if I may use such an expression) disgraced themselves good-humouredly. All …
Ch 3, para 7: A cry inside hurried me into a room, which appeared to serve as an armoury. A third Indian, mortally wounded, was sinking at the feet of a man …
Ch 3, para 7: A cry inside hurried me into a room, which appeared to serve as an armoury. A third Indian, mortally wounded, was sinking at the feet of a man …
Ch 3, para 8: Before I could stir in the matter, the men who had followed me across the courtyard crowded in. My cousin rushed to meet them, like a madman. “Clear …
Ch 5, para 8: “We have certain events to relate,” Mr. Franklin proceeded; “and we have certain persons concerned in those events who are capable of relating them. Starting from these plain …
Ch 5, para 8: “We have certain events to relate,” Mr. Franklin proceeded; “and we have certain persons concerned in those events who are capable of relating them. Starting from these plain …
Collins uses similes sparingly but effectively: the Moonstone shines 'like the light of the harvest moon' (ch13), Rosanna moves 'like a woman in a dream' (ch21). Metaphors dominate: the Diamond as a curse, the Shivering Sand as quicksand grave, opium as a veil over consciousness. The book favours direct statement over figurative language.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 21, Ch 48
Lord bless us! it was a Diamond! As large, or nearly, as a plover’s egg! The light that streamed from it was like the light of the harvest moon. (Ch 13, para 21)
We left her, as we had found her, sweeping the corridor, like a woman in a dream. (Ch 21, para 66)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 60%, sound 24%, touch 12%, taste 3%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 1287 |
| sound | 501 |
| touch | 264 |
| taste | 57 |
| smell | 19 |
Sight dominates: paint stains, the Diamond's gleam, footprints in sand. Sound appears in dialogue and music (ch44). Touch matters in the Shivering Sand scenes and the opium experiment. Smell: the 'sweet-smelling liquor, as black as ink' (ch11). Taste barely registers. The novel privileges visual evidence as proof.
Chapters: Ch 11, Ch 16, Ch 19, Ch 41, Ch 44, Ch 48
Picking the object up, I discovered it was a small bottle, containing a thick sweet-smelling liquor, as black as ink. (Ch 11, para 14)
Lord bless us! it was a Diamond! As large, or nearly, as a plover’s egg! The light that streamed from it was like the light of the harvest moon. (Ch 13, para 21)
I tried the undermost side, next—and instantly discovered the smear of the paint from the door of Rachel’s boudoir! (Ch 41, para 67)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
115 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.61 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three recur: three Indians, three priests guarding the Diamond, three turning points in the mystery. Repetition of 'the Moonstone' anchors the plot. Patterns of concealment and revelation structure each section. Betteredge's habit of consulting Robinson Crusoe creates comic rhythm through recurrence.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 7, Ch 14, Ch 27, Ch 48, Ch 56
The deity commanded that the Moonstone should be watched, from that time forth, by three priests in turn, night and day, to the end of the generations of men. (Ch 2, para 7)
The Indians looked up the road and down the road once more—and then the chief Indian said these words to the boy; “See the English gentleman from foreign parts. (Ch 7, para 24)
when I write of Robinson Crusoe, by the Lord it’s serious—and I request you to take it accordingly! (Ch 53, para 50)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, connexion, anon, hither, thither, whilst.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 8 |
| connexion | 6 |
| anon | 1 |
| hither | 1 |
| thither | 1 |
| whilst | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Collins shows rather than tells in key scenes: Franklin's discovery of the nightgown (ch41), Rachel's confession of witnessing the theft (ch45), the opium experiment (ch48). But he also tells through Sergeant Cuff's written report (ch49 to 53) and multiple narrators' summaries. Action dominates the first half; exposition the second.
Chapters: Ch 41, Ch 45, Ch 48, Ch 49, Ch 52
There was no mistaking it as an article of dress. It was a nightgown. (Ch 41, para 66)
You villain, I saw you take the Diamond with my own eyes! (Ch 45, para 29)
You shall steal the Diamond, unconsciously, for the second time, in the presence of witnesses whose testimony is beyond dispute. (Ch 48, para 66)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action rather than preceding it. The Shivering Sand is described as characters approach it (ch19). The Diamond's curse is explained through narrative summary (ch2) before the theft occurs. Betteredge's household descriptions ground the early chapters before the inciting incident (ch15).
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 6, Ch 15, Ch 19
The earliest known traditions describe the stone as having been set in the forehead of the four-handed Indian god who typifies the Moon. (Ch 2, para 2)
Side by side, in the grey of the summer evening, Sergeant Cuff and I set forth for the Shivering Sand. (Ch 18, para 70)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 4.31 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| heard | 175 |
| saw | 168 |
| thought | 140 |
| felt | 125 |
| knew | 83 |
| seemed | 65 |
| noticed | 44 |
| watched | 10 |
| wondered | 7 |
| realised | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from Betteredge's homely, comic voice (ch5 to 27) to Miss Clack's pious, self-righteous tone (ch28 to 35), then to Franklin's urgent, desperate voice (ch39 to 48), and finally to Cuff's formal, analytical report (ch49 to 53). The ending returns to Betteredge's warmth. Each narrator's voice signals emotional register.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 28, Ch 39, Ch 49, Ch 56
I am indebted to my dear parents (both now in heaven) for having had habits of order and regularity instilled into me at a very early age. (Ch 28, para 1)
There was an absence of all lady-like restraint in her language and manner most painful to see. (Ch 28, para 35)
I beg to apologise for the delay that has occurred in the production of the Report, with which I engaged to furnish you. (Ch 49, para 1)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from Betteredge's obsessive consulting of Robinson Crusoe for life guidance (ch5, 8, 26), Miss Clack's oblivious self-righteousness and failed evangelical schemes (ch28 to 35), and Sergeant Cuff's sudden pivot to gardening (ch26). Humour undercuts tension and reveals character through incongruity.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 8, Ch 26, Ch 28, Ch 31, Ch 35
In the first part of Robinson Crusoe, at page one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it thus written: (Ch 5, para 1)
Before I had occupied myself with that extraordinary book five minutes, I came on a comforting bit (page one hundred and fifty-eight), as follows: “Today we love, what tomorrow we hate. (Ch 6, para 14)
There will be grass walks, Mr. Betteredge, I promise you, in my garden. And as for the white moss rose (Ch 26, para 56)
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