Book Anatomy · The School for Scandal
The School for Scandal: Pace
16 lenses on pace for The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. 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: D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 D13 D14 D15 D16
D1. Chapter length in words, as a chart. Count
13 chapters, median 1,724 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D2. Mean sentence length per chapter. Count
Mean 9.2 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D3. Paragraph length per chapter. Count
Paragraphs average 20 words.
Mean paragraph words, chapter by chapter
D4. Scene against summary: how much is shown live? AI
Nearly all is shown live through dialogue and scene. The play is 87.5% dialogue with minimal summary or narration, making it almost entirely dramatised action.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 4, Scene 8, Scene 9, Scene 11
D5. Action against reflection, per chapter. AI
Action dominates throughout. Quiet scenes like chapter 5 still contain planning and revelation rather than reflection. The play moves through confrontation and discovery with little introspection.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 10
D6. Tension score per chapter (1 to 5) as a curve. AI
Peak 5 of 5, mean 3.4. See the full lens on the book page.
D7. Emotional arc of the whole book, matched to the six shapes. Count
Riches to rags (fall). See the full lens on the book page.
D8. Chapter endings: cliffhanger, question, reveal or quiet close. AI
6 of 13 chapters end on a hook. See the full lens on the book page.
D9. Chapter openings: in scene, in summary, or after a time jump. AI
All chapters open in scene. There are no summary openings or time-jump markers. Each scene begins with characters present and speaking or acting.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6
D10. Do chapters and sentences get shorter near the climax? Count
In the last fifth, chapters run at 1.7 times the length of earlier ones, and sentences at 0.84 times. So things speed up near the end.
D11. Dialogue density against pace. Count
Link between dialogue share and chapter length: -0.38 (1 is a perfect match, 0 none). Between dialogue share and tension: -0.36.
Dialogue % per chapter, chapter by chapter
D12. Time jumps and how they are signalled. Both
2 time jump phrases in the narration, such as 'next morning' or 'years later'.
| Where | Phrase |
|---|---|
| c1p118 | next morning |
| c13p310 | next year |
Time jump phrases, chapter by chapter
Ch 1, para 118: CRABTREE. Why one evening at Mrs. Ponto's Assembly--the conversation happened to turn on the difficulty of breeding Nova-Scotia Sheep in this country--says a young Lady in company[, "]I …
Ch 13, para 310: I, who was late so volatile and gay, Like a trade-wind must now blow all one way, Bend all my cares, my studies, and my vows, To one …
Time jumps are unmarked and implicit between scenes. The play moves from one location to another without explicit temporal signals, relying on the reader to infer passage of time between acts and scenes.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2, Scene 5, Scene 6, Scene 7, Scene 9, Scene 10
D13. Info dump spots: long runs with no action or speech. Both
3 stretches of 900 words or more with no speech at all. These are where description, summary or backstory pile up.
| Starts at | Words | Paragraphs |
|---|---|---|
| c6p13 | 18296 | 1005 |
| c1p119 | 6441 | 288 |
| c1p1 | 3116 | 117 |
No long info dumps exist. Even planning scenes like chapter 5 and 6 contain active dialogue and conflict. The high dialogue share prevents static exposition.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 5, Scene 6
D14. Reading time per chapter. Count
About 1.9 hours to read at 250 words a minute. The longest chapter takes 21.8 minutes.
Minutes per chapter, chapter by chapter
D15. Micro tension in quiet scenes. AI
Quiet scenes gain tension through subtext and hidden agendas. Chapter 3 shows marital discord beneath surface civility; chapter 5 contains Sir Oliver's scepticism about Joseph masked by polite reunion.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 5, Scene 10
I am sorry to hear it--he has too good a character to be an honest Fellow. Everybody speaks well of him! Psha! (Ch 5, para 21)
D16. Section breaks per chapter. Count
0 section breaks marked in the text, in 0 of 13 chapters.
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