Literature by words and numbers, or the mathematical analysis of Victorian Literature. I think.

[RandomAnthony]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/boo...

Dan Cohen and Fred Gibbs, the two historians of science at George Mason University who have created the project, have so far charted how frequently more than two dozen words — among them “God,” “love,” “work,” “science” and “industrial” — appear in British book titles from the French Revolution in 1789 to the beginning of World War I in 1914. To Mr. Cohen, the sharply jagged lines that dance across his graphs can be used to test some of the most deeply entrenched beliefs about the Victorians, like their faith in progress and science: “We can finally and truly test these and other fundamental claims that have been at the heart of Victorian studies for generations.”

Hm. Interesting. Pros and cons of using this sort of data analysis with literature?

[Michele]

My english teacher ruined "The Red Badge of Courage" for me by making the class count the number of color words Stephen Crane used. I am a story driven reader. Anything that interferes with that ruins a book for me.

[[deleted user]]

Two men in a bar. The first one said to the other. 'I wonder how many...'

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Perhaps scholars are latching onto it in relief, given that so many other areas of study within literature have been exhausted?