Book Anatomy · The Worm Ouroboros
The Worm Ouroboros: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison. 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
12,458 different words. On average 53 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 5,685 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
thou, king, lord, thee, hath. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 7.94 words ending in 'ly' and 5.43 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 2.0% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 6.1% 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 30% of sentences: and, the, but, so, he.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| and | 805 |
| the | 512 |
| but | 468 |
| so | 278 |
| he | 251 |
| i | 230 |
| for | 183 |
| thou | 129 |
| she | 123 |
| it | 119 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.74 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
297 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.74 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 48: Surely the martlet’s eyes filled all the room with starlight. It was an old room with lotuses carved on the panels and on the bed and chairs and …
Ch 1, para 48: Surely the martlet’s eyes filled all the room with starlight. It was an old room with lotuses carved on the panels and on the bed and chairs and …
Ch 1, para 49: With a whirr of wings the wild courser sprang skyward. The night about them was like the tumult of bubbles about a diver’s ears diving in a deep …
Ch 1, para 61: Folk now began to be astir in the castle, and there came a score of serving men into the presence chamber with brooms and brushes, cloths and leathers, …
Ch 1, para 62: Now came a stir near the stately doorway, and Lessingham beheld a Demon of burly frame and noble port, richly attired. His face was ruddy and somewhat freckled, …
Ch 2, para 8: Volle threw up his beard and laughed a great laugh at some jest that Zigg whispered in his ear, and Lessingham leaned forward into the hall if haply …
Eddison uses similes and metaphors extensively, often comparing warriors to animals, mountains to thresholds, and abstract forces to physical entities. Examples include Goldry as a 'great champion', the mantichore as a deadly obstacle, and Carcë as a fortress of dark power.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 18, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 33
never shall thine eyes behold a greater champion than the Lord Goldry Bluszco, captain of the hosts of Demonland. (Ch 2, para 13)
Great of growth he was, and a very peacock of splendour in his panoply of war; and a great pitch-black stallion bare him. (Ch 16, para 26)
And there was Helteranius fallen, the sword of Jalcanaius Fostus standing in his heart, and his right hand grasping still his own sword that had given Jalcanaius his bane-sore. (Ch 18, para 4)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 54%, sound 22%, touch 15%, taste 7%, smell 2%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 1045 |
| sound | 427 |
| touch | 283 |
| taste | 143 |
| smell | 44 |
Sight dominates, with vivid descriptions of landscapes, armour, and faces. Sound appears in battle cries and music. Smell is rare but memorable (hay and flowers on Koshtra Belorn). Touch and taste are minimal.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 12, Ch 24, Ch 43
After a while Juss halted and sniffed the air. “I smell new-mown hay,” he said, “and flower-scents. Is this my fantasy, or canst thou smell them too? (Ch 24, para 44)
The floor was paved with steatite, white and creamy, with veins of rich brown and black and purple and splashes of scarlet. (Ch 11, para 48)
Dazzling fair shone her bare shoulders and bare arms and throat and bosom (Ch 29, para 36)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
300 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 1.76 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Lists of three appear frequently: three wrestling falls, three great captains, three lords of Demonland. Repetition of key phrases like 'Witchland' and 'Demonland' anchors the conflict. Patterns of quest, battle, and return structure the narrative.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 17, Ch 18, Ch 51
Terrible must be the wrastling betwixt two such champions, and dark the issue thereof. (Ch 3, para 14)
And there was Helteranius fallen, the sword of Jalcanaius Fostus standing in his heart, and his right hand grasping still his own sword that had given Jalcanaius his bane-sore. (Ch 18, para 4)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: thou, thee, thy, hath, art, ere.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thou | 773 |
| thee | 575 |
| thy | 361 |
| hath | 260 |
| art | 129 |
| ere | 121 |
| thine | 113 |
| betwixt | 78 |
| shalt | 56 |
| wilt | 55 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Eddison shows rather than tells through dialogue and action. The wrestling match (chapter 4) demonstrates Gorice's treachery without explanation. Mevrian's character emerges through her choices at Krothering rather than description.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 37, Ch 38, Ch 51
A great champion hath been strook to earth this day in fair and equal combat. (Ch 5, para 5)
This is my brother’s house. So long as I may keep it for him against his coming home I will not creep out of Krothering like a rat (Ch 37, para 8)
And she showed him shortly that this was her design, to yield up the keep unto Corinius under promise of a safe conduct for Astar and Ravnor and all her men. (Ch 38, para 4)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description often precedes action, especially in early chapters introducing the lords and settings. However, action frequently interrupts description, creating rhythm. The climb of Koshtra Pivrarcha balances both.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24
On the water-shed, as on an horse’s withers, looking west to the red October sunset and south to the far line of the Didornian Sea, they came upon a spy-fortalice, old and desolate, and one sitting in the gate. (Ch 16, para 20)
So on the ninth day of May they crossed the Zia Pass and camped on the rocks under the south wall of Tetrachnampf nan Tshark. (Ch 22, para 30)
Only the peak they climbed still reared itself above them, clear now and near to view, showing a bare beetling cliff on the north-east, overhung by a cornice of snow. (Ch 24, para 21)
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 1.98 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| seemed | 92 |
| thought | 65 |
| saw | 58 |
| heard | 52 |
| knew | 32 |
| watched | 23 |
| felt | 16 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from formal court speech to intimate dialogue to epic battle narration. Chapter 12's banquet is tense and philosophical; chapter 51's battle is urgent and visceral. The final chapters grow elegiac.
Chapters: Ch 12, Ch 38, Ch 51, Ch 54, Ch 55
How vain a thing is ambition. This was Gaslark’s bane, whose enterprises of such pitch and moment have ended thus, in a kind of nothing. (Ch 12, para 45)
This is the greatest deed of arms that ever I in the days of my life did see, and I have so great an admiration and wonder in my heart for Corund that almost I would give him peace. (Ch 51, para 10)
Surely my heart is glad, O my friend, that thou and these other lords of Demonland shall now enjoy your goodly treasures and fair days in your dear native land in peace and quietness all your lives. (Ch 54, para 11)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy is sparse and dry, emerging from character quirks and ironic situations. Corinius's drunken boasting (chapter 13) and Corsus's failed schemes provide dark humour. The tone is mostly serious and heroic.
Chapters: Ch 13, Ch 35, Ch 52
Two of that brood we have laid by the heels, and nailed ’em up on the wall of the old banquet hall, as farmers nail up weasels and polecats on a barn door. (Ch 13, para 38)
Thou fool! think’st thou I am Gallandus come again? Thou that didst murther him shalt not murther me. (Ch 35, para 14)
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