Via Ryan Heuser, Digital Humanist at King’s College, Cambridge – a comparison of abstract vs. concrete language in prose fiction from 1550-2019.
For more on his methods and a public discussion of these findings, see his Twitter thread.
Note the authors associated with the rise of the novel around 1750, and the forms of the early novel (Gothic, Sentimental, National). The move in the middle to late 19th century and over 20th century is to novelistic forms of realism and naturalism, and then to modernism and post-modernism.
What might the implications be of noting abstract vs concrete language in novels? Are there implications for the form of novels? Or how they explore ideas, experiences, or identities?
Do you see any of your favorite authors represented here?
