Evaluating the Performance of a New Text Rhythm Analysis Tool

Abstract

The paper assesses and evaluates the performance of the ProseRhythmDetector (PRD) Text Rhythm Analysis Tool. The research is a case study of 50 English and 50 Russian fictional texts (approximately 88,000 words each) from the 19th to the 21st century. The paper assesses the PRD tool accuracy in detecting stylistic devices containing repetition in their structure such as diacope, epanalepsis, anaphora, epiphora, symploce, epizeuxis, anadiplosis, and polysyndeton. The article ends by discussing common errors, analysing disputable cases and highlighting the use of the tool for author and idiolect identification.

Keywords

• text rhythm analysis
• diacope
• epanalepsis
• anaphora
• epiphora
• symploce
• epizeuxis
• anadiplosis