Book Anatomy · The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. 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 73 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
4,298 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,222 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
flora, miles, pupils, schoolroom, literally. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 15.88 words ending in 'ly' and 9.58 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 4.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 4.6% 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 35% of sentences: i, it, she, he, the.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 397 |
| it | 127 |
| she | 117 |
| he | 106 |
| the | 99 |
| but | 92 |
| grose | 89 |
| what | 63 |
| and | 63 |
| there | 55 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.8 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
59 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.48 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 2: I had no drop again till the next day, for I was carried triumphantly through the following hours by my introduction to the younger of my pupils. The …
Ch 1, para 14: I forthwith expressed that the proper as well as the pleasant and friendly thing would be therefore that on the arrival of the public conveyance I should be …
Ch 1, para 15: What I felt the next day was, I suppose, nothing that could be fairly called a reaction from the cheer of my arrival; it was probably at the …
Ch 1, para 15: What I felt the next day was, I suppose, nothing that could be fairly called a reaction from the cheer of my arrival; it was probably at the …
Ch 3, para 14: This, at all events, was for the time: a time so full that, as I recall the way it went, it reminds me of all the art I …
Ch 3, para 16: It was plump, one afternoon, in the middle of my very hour: the children were tucked away, and I had come out for my stroll. One of the …
James uses extended similes and metaphors throughout, often comparing emotional states to physical sensations. Examples include the governess's mind as a 'seesaw' (c1), her thoughts as a 'spring of a beast' (c3), and the children's beauty masking corruption like 'charming stories' (c3, c9).
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 9, Ch 15
I remember the whole beginning as a succession of flights and drops, a little seesaw of the right throbs and the wrong. (Ch 1, para 1)
The change was actually like the spring of a beast. (Ch 3, para 14)
One of the thoughts that, as I don’t in the least shrink now from noting, used to be with me in these wanderings was that it would be as charming as a charming story suddenly to meet someone. (Ch 3, para 16)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 64%, touch 17%, sound 15%, taste 3%, smell 1%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 368 |
| touch | 100 |
| sound | 88 |
| taste | 15 |
| smell | 6 |
Sight dominates the narrative, with the governess constantly looking for apparitions and watching the children. Sound appears through Miles's piano playing and his final cry. Touch is minimal; taste and smell are absent.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 18, Ch 24
He has red hair, very red, close-curling, and a pale face, long in shape, with straight, good features and little, rather queer whiskers that are as red as his hair. (Ch 5, para 60)
He sat down at the old piano and played as he had never played; and if there are those who think he had better have been kicking a football I can only say that I wholly agree with them. (Ch 18, para 3)
Peter Quint—you devil! (Ch 24, para 49)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
26 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.65 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of key phrases like 'I see' and 'she's there' builds tension. Lists of three appear in descriptions of the apparitions' features and the children's evasions. The motif of looking and being looked at repeats throughout.
Chapters: Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 20, Ch 24
He has red hair, very red, close-curling, and a pale face, long in shape, with straight, good features and little, rather queer whiskers that are as red as his hair. (Ch 5, para 60)
She’s there, she’s there! (Ch 20, para 1)
She was there, and I was justified; she was there, and I was neither cruel nor mad. (Ch 20, para 2)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, hither.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 2 |
| hither | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
James shows the governess's fear through her actions and observations rather than stating it directly. Her discovery of Flora at the window (c10) and her confrontation with Quint (c9) demonstrate her terror through behaviour rather than explanation.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 19, Ch 20
He was absolutely, on this occasion, a living, detestable, dangerous presence. (Ch 9, para 5)
I had plenty of anguish after that extraordinary moment, but I had, thank God, no terror. (Ch 9, para 6)
The presence on the lawn—I felt sick as I made it out—was poor little Miles himself. (Ch 10, para 11)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is woven into action throughout. The governess describes the mysterious man while seeing him (c4), and settings emerge as she moves through them. Little pure description appears before events.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6
He had come for someone else. (Ch 4, para 5)
He has red hair, very red, close-curling, and a pale face, long in shape, with straight, good features and little, rather queer whiskers that are as red as his hair. (Ch 5, para 60)
Suddenly, in these circumstances, I became aware that, on the other side of the Sea of Azof, we had an interested spectator. (Ch 6, para 40)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.7 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| felt | 59 |
| saw | 54 |
| knew | 35 |
| seemed | 25 |
| thought | 21 |
| heard | 17 |
| watched | 9 |
| wondered | 7 |
| noticed | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from hopeful arrival (c1) to growing dread (c4 to 5), then to desperate isolation (c13 to 20), and finally to tragic resignation (c24). The governess's voice becomes increasingly strained and urgent.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 13, Ch 20, Ch 24
I remember the whole beginning as a succession of flights and drops, a little seesaw of the right throbs and the wrong. (Ch 1, para 1)
The four, depend upon it, perpetually meet. If on either of these last nights you had been with either child, you would clearly have understood. (Ch 12, para 3)
You terrible, miserable woman!”—I heard myself break into a sound that, by the open door, rang through the long passage and the empty house. (Ch 15, para 5)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is minimal and dark. Miles's claim that he went out to seem bad 'as a joke' (c11) and his piano playing while Flora escapes (c18) offer grim irony rather than humour.
Chapters: Ch 11, Ch 18
Well,” he said at last, “just exactly in order that you should do this. (Ch 11, para 5)
Think me—for a change—bad! (Ch 11, para 7)
He sat down at the old piano and played as he had never played; and if there are those who think he had better have been kicking a football I can only say that I wholly agree with them. (Ch 18, para 3)
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