Book Anatomy · Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. 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 81 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
2,831 different words. On average 46 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 1,183 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
alice, queen, knight, kitten, alice's. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 13.87 words ending in 'ly' and 3.65 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 2.6% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 3.1% 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 31% of sentences: i, alice, and, the, but.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| i | 189 |
| alice | 126 |
| and | 103 |
| the | 92 |
| but | 67 |
| you | 57 |
| it | 46 |
| it’s | 43 |
| what | 39 |
| she | 38 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 0.77 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
83 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 2.81 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 7: “Do you know, I was so angry, Kitty,” Alice went on as soon as they were comfortably settled again, “when I saw all the mischief you had been …
Ch 1, para 13: “How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? I wonder if they’d give you milk in there? Perhaps Looking-glass milk isn’t good to drink—But oh, Kitty! …
Ch 1, para 13: “How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? I wonder if they’d give you milk in there? Perhaps Looking-glass milk isn’t good to drink—But oh, Kitty! …
Ch 1, para 14: In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the Looking-glass room. The very first thing she did was to look whether there …
Ch 1, para 15: Then she began looking about, and noticed that what could be seen from the old room was quite common and uninteresting, but that all the rest was as …
Ch 2, para 2: “I should see the garden far better,” said Alice to herself, “if I could get to the top of that hill: and here’s a path that leads straight …
Carroll uses similes and metaphors sparingly but memorably. Key examples include the Red Queen's 'running to stay in place' (Chapter 2), the White Queen's impossible beliefs, and the dream frame itself as metaphor for consciousness and reality.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 5, Ch 10
Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. (Ch 2, para 72)
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. (Ch 5, para 57)
it must have been either me or the Red King. He was part of my dream, of course—but then I was part of his dream, too! (Ch 10, para 11)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 60%, sound 29%, touch 10%, taste 1%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 294 |
| sound | 142 |
| touch | 49 |
| taste | 4 |
| smell | 1 |
Sight dominates throughout. Sound appears in dialogue and the crow's approach. Touch features in falls and physical encounters. Taste and smell are minimal; food is described but rarely consumed successfully.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 7, Ch 9
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
11 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.37 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Carroll uses lists of three frequently: three flowers in Chapter 2, three insects in Chapter 3, three impossible things in Chapter 5. Repetition of phrases like 'jam tomorrow' and the running motif create rhythm and reinforce illogic.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5
The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never jam to-day. (Ch 5, para 17)
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. (Ch 5, para 57)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: twas, art, thee, thou.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| twas | 3 |
| art | 2 |
| thee | 2 |
| thou | 1 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Carroll shows rather than tells through dialogue and action. Alice's confusion is revealed through her questions and reactions, not narration. The Red Queen's nature emerges through her commands and contradictions rather than description.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 9
Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. (Ch 2, para 72)
You’d be nowhere. Why, you’re only a sort of thing in his dream! (Ch 4, para 63)
I’ll shake you into a kitten, that I will! (Ch 9, para 144)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and woven into action. Carroll moves quickly through settings and focuses on dialogue and events. Little time is spent on static scene-setting before action begins.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 5.99 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 86 |
| seemed | 26 |
| felt | 17 |
| saw | 14 |
| heard | 11 |
| watched | 8 |
| knew | 7 |
| noticed | 6 |
| wondered | 2 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from wonder in Chapter 1 to confusion in Chapters 2 to 3, philosophical debate in Chapter 4, whimsy in Chapters 5 to 8, and chaos in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 returns to quiet reflection and melancholy.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 9, Ch 10
Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don’t exactly know what they are! (Ch 1, para 51)
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. (Ch 5, para 57)
Ever drifting down the stream— Lingering in the golden gleam— Life, what is it but a dream? (Ch 10, para 19)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy works through absurd logic, wordplay, and physical slapstick. The White Knight's inventions, Humpty Dumpty's pedantry, and the chaotic dinner party generate humour through contradiction and nonsense rather than jokes.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9
It’s my own invention—to keep clothes and sandwiches in. You see I carry it upside-down, so that the rain can’t get in. (Ch 8, para 19)
Certainly not,” the Red Queen said, very decidedly: “it isn’t etiquette to cut any one you’ve been introduced to. (Ch 9, para 115)
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