To Think of Nothing statistical analysis

[breakinglight11]

For my own edification I have analyzed the amount of lines, the frequency of lines, and the amount of stage time each character in To Think of Nothing has to compare the reality to my perception.

"Lines spoken" means the number of sentenses spoken. "Occasions speaking" means the number of times a character speaks before another character speaks instead. "Pages onstage" means the number of pages in the script between the character's entrance and exit. "Line density" means how many lines a character speaks, on average, on each occasion they speak.

There are a total of 702 lines spoken in the play. They are spoken on 339 occasions. The play is 18 pages long.

AGLAEA:

31 lines spoken
24 occasions speaking
17 pages onstage

31/702 lines = 4.42% of lines in the play
24/339 occasions = speaks on 7.08% of all occasions of speech in the play
17/18 pages = present onstage for 94.44% of the play

31/17 = 1.82 lines spoken per page onstage
24/17 = 1.41 occasions of speech per page onstage

31/24 = line density of 1.29 lines spoken per occasion of speech

EUPHROSYNE:

45 lines spoken
29 occasions speaking
17 pages onstage

45/702 lines = 6.41% of lines in the play
29/339 occasions = speaks on 8.55% of all occasions of speech in the play
17/18 pages = present onstage for 94.44% of the play

45/17 = 2.65 lines spoken per page onstage
29/17 = 1.71 occasions of speech per page onstage

45/29 = line density of 1.55 lines spoken per occasion of speech

THALIA:

45 lines spoken
32 occasions speaking
17.25 pages onstage

45/702 lines = 6.41% of lines in the play
32/339 occasions = speaks on 9.44% of all occasions of speech in the play
17.25/18 pages = present onstage for 95.83% of the play

45/17.25 = 2.61 lines spoken per page onstage
32/17.25 = 1.86 occasions of speech per page onstage

45/32 = line density of 1.41 lines spoken per occasion of speech

PALAMON: 

71 lines spoken
31 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage

71/702 lines = 10.11% of lines in the play
31/339 occasions = speaks on 9.14% of all occasions of speech in the play
13.33/18 pages = present onstage for 74.06% of the play

71/13.33 = 5.33 lines spoken per page onstage
31/13.33 = 2.33 occasions of speech per page onstage

71/31 = line density of 2.29 lines spoken per occasion of speech

ANDROMEDA:

76 lines spoken
35 occasions speaking
17.75 pages onstage

76/702 lines = 10.83% of lines in the play
35/339 occasions = speaks on 10.32% of all occasions of speech in the play
17.75/18 pages = present onstage for 98.61% of the play

76/17.75 = 4.28 lines spoken per page onstage
35/17.75 = 1.97 occasions of speech per page onstage

76/35 = line density of 2.17 lines spoken per occasion of speech

SELENE:

85 lines spoken
37 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage

85/702 lines = 12.12% of lines in the play
37/339 occasions = speaks on 10.91% of all occasions of speech in the play
14.75/18 pages = present onstage for 81.94% of the play

85/14.75 = 5.76 lines spoken per page onstage
37/14.75 = 2.51 occasions of speech per page onstage

85/37 = line density of 2.30 lines spoken per occasion of speech

DAMON: 

115 lines spoken
50 occasions speaking
14.75 pages onstage

115/702 lines = 16.38% of lines in the play
50/339 occasions = speaks on 14.75% of all occasions of speech in the play
14.75/18 pages = present onstage for 81.94% of the play

115/14.75 = 7.80 lines spoken per page onstage
50/14.75 = 3.39 occasions of speech per page onstage

115/50 = line density of 2.30 lines spoken per occasion of speech

CASSANDER: 

234 lines spoken
101 occasions speaking
18 pages onstage

234/702 lines = 33.33% of lines in the play
101/339 occasions = speaks on 29.79% of all occasions of speech in the play
18/18 pages - present onstage for 100.00% of the play

234/18 = 13.00 lines spoken per page onstage
101/18 = 5.61 occasions of speech per page onstage

234/101 = line density of 2.31 lines spoken per occasion of speech

...

Wow. The first thing I noticed is that the distribution of lines was a lot less even than I perceived it to be. I feel like when you're watching or reading it, it feels much more balanced and every character is just as involved as every other character. I'm glad it feels that way, even if it isn't. I knew Cassander spoke more than anyone else, but speaking a full third of the lines in the play? Whoa. He and Damon are the most verbose characters in the play, and I love how even though Palamon has the shortest amount of stage time, he speaks more lines than characters who spend more time onstage, and his line density is just as high as those others-- when he's onstage, he is often the center of attention. :-)

It also goes to show that part size is not a good indicator of importance. Every character is pretty much equally important to the story, and yet they are not equal in amount of lines they speak or number of occasions on which they speak them. I firmly believe this, especially with Shakespeare.
 
This is probably not interesting to anyone but me, but I find it fascinating to examine.

Comments

[morethings5.livejournal.com]

It's interesting to me! I am not particularly surprised by this breakdown, actually. Apparently acting the play gives one a better sense of who's speaking than writing it?

[laurion]

Also goes to show that what impacts the audience as important is now how much you say, or how long you are saying it, but what you are saying, when, and perhaps with what frequency.