Book Anatomy · Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights: Pace
16 lenses on pace for Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. 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
34 chapters, median 3,375 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D2. Mean sentence length per chapter. Count
Mean 17.5 words. See the full lens on the book page.
D3. Paragraph length per chapter. Count
Paragraphs average 61 words.
Mean paragraph words, chapter by chapter
D4. Scene against summary: how much is shown live? AI
Most of the book is shown live in scenes with dialogue and action. Chapters 1 to 3 and 10 to 16 are heavily scenic. Summary appears in chapters 4 to 5 (Nelly's backstory) and 18, 25, 30 to 31 (time jumps and reports).
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 10
D5. Action against reflection, per chapter. AI
Early chapters (1 to 3) are pure action and dialogue. Middle chapters (9 to 16) balance action with reflection on Catherine's feelings. Later chapters (21 to 27) shift toward action as the revenge plot accelerates. Final chapters (32 to 34) return to reflection on Heathcliff's obsession.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 3, Ch 9, Ch 12, Ch 15, Ch 16
he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. (Ch 9, para 83)
My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. (Ch 9, para 91)
The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her! (Ch 33, para 46)
D6. Tension score per chapter (1 to 5) as a curve. AI
Peak 5 of 5, mean 4.0. 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
26 of 34 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
Chapter 1 opens in scene with Lockwood arriving. Chapter 4 opens in summary after recovery. Chapter 18 opens with summary after time jump. Chapter 25 opens in summary. Chapter 32 opens after time jump. Most chapters begin in scene or with dialogue.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 4, Ch 18, Ch 25, Ch 32
I, weak wretch, after maintaining till dusk a struggle with low spirits and solitude, was finally compelled to strike my colours (Ch 4, para 1)
One fine summer morning—it was the beginning of harvest, I remember—Mr. Earnshaw, the old master, came downstairs, dressed for a journey (Ch 4, para 33)
The twelve years, continued Mrs. Dean, following that dismal period were the happiest of my life (Ch 18, para 1)
D10. Do chapters and sentences get shorter near the climax? Count
In the last fifth, chapters run at 0.88 times the length of earlier ones, and sentences at 0.98 times. So things speed up near the end.
D11. Dialogue density against pace. Count
Link between dialogue share and chapter length: 0.27 (1 is a perfect match, 0 none). Between dialogue share and tension: 0.17.
Dialogue % per chapter, chapter by chapter
D12. Time jumps and how they are signalled. Both
13 time jump phrases in the narration, such as 'next morning' or 'years later'.
| Where | Phrase |
|---|---|
| c4p40 | two years after |
| c9p8 | next day |
| c10p83 | next day |
| c11p71 | next morning |
| c16p2 | Next morning |
| c19p24 | next day |
| c21p4 | two years after |
| c21p80 | Next day |
Time jump phrases, chapter by chapter
Ch 4, para 40: So, from the very beginning, he bred bad feeling in the house; and at Mrs. Earnshaw’s death, which happened in less than two years after, the young master …
Ch 9, para 8: There was scarcely time to experience a thrill of horror before we saw that the little wretch was safe. Heathcliff arrived underneath just at the critical moment; by …
Ch 10, para 83: “Banish him from your thoughts, Miss,” I said. “He’s a bird of bad omen: no mate for you. Mrs. Linton spoke strongly, and yet I can’t contradict her. …
Ch 11, para 71: As she never offered to descend to breakfast next morning, I went to ask whether she would have some carried up. “No!” she replied, peremptorily. The same question …
Ch 16, para 2: Next morning—bright and cheerful out of doors—stole softened in through the blinds of the silent room, and suffused the couch and its occupant with a mellow, tender glow. …
Ch 19, para 24: I perceived he was bent on refusing my mediation, so very reluctantly I went up to the library, and announced the unseasonable visitor, advising that he should be …
Time jumps are signalled by summary passages and Nelly's narrative voice. Chapter 4 jumps back years via Nelly's story. Chapter 18 jumps twelve years forward with explicit statement. Chapter 25 reflects on winter events. Chapter 32 jumps to September 1802 with Lockwood's return.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 18, Ch 25, Ch 32
The twelve years, continued Mrs. Dean, following that dismal period were the happiest of my life (Ch 18, para 1)
A letter, edged with black, announced the day of my master’s return. Isabella was dead (Ch 19, para 1)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| c9p123 | 1034 | 7 |
| c14p33 | 1002 | 8 |
| c13p6 | 936 | 9 |
Long info dumps occur in chapters 4 to 5 (Nelly's backstory of the Earnshaw family), chapter 13 (Isabella's letter describing her marriage), and chapter 25 (Edgar's declining health and Catherine's supervised visits). These passages have minimal action or speech.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 13, Ch 25
Any relic of the dead is precious, if they were valued living. (Ch 13, para 7)
I do hate him—I am wretched—I have been a fool! Beware of uttering one breath of this to any one at the Grange. (Ch 13, para 66)
D14. Reading time per chapter. Count
About 7.8 hours to read at 250 words a minute. The longest chapter takes 27.4 minutes.
Minutes per chapter, chapter by chapter
D15. Micro tension in quiet scenes. AI
Quiet scenes gain tension through subtext and emotional stakes. Chapter 3 creates dread through Lockwood's nightmare and Heathcliff's anguish. Chapter 26 builds tension through Linton's fear and Catherine's disappointment. Chapter 33 creates tension through Heathcliff's internal struggle and Catherine's defiance.
Chapters: Ch 3, Ch 26, Ch 33
Come in! come in!” he sobbed. “Cathy, do come. Oh, do—once more! Oh! my heart’s darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last! (Ch 3, para 54)
don’t look sad and downcast, as you are doing—he’ll be angry. (Ch 26, para 15)
And so we left him, scarcely conscious of our departure, so absorbed was he in anticipating his father’s approach. (Ch 26, para 34)
D16. Section breaks per chapter. Count
11 section breaks marked in the text, in 10 of 34 chapters.
Section breaks, chapter by chapter
Ask Wuthering Heights a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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