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Shakespeare Word Frequency Lists "I am ill at these numbers..." Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2
We have constructed frequency lists of all the words used in the most popularly studied of Shakespeare's plays, arranged both alphabetically and by frequency. Such lists can be fun and useful for identifying themes or jogging the memory. Lists are entirely the product of machine manipulation -- they have not been vetted or editted.
These lists are derived soley from words spoken by characters -- all act/scene designations, stage directions, and speaker names have been removed.
Thanks to Jacek Iwanski for his Word List Maker, part of a suite of tools he has developed for teaching foreign languages. And thanks to Nisus Writer, for its powerful grep search tools, without which stripping the plays of non-spoken text would be unsupportable drudgery...
You can search just the pages linked below
by going to our Shakespeare search page.
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All's Well That Ends Well
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 Alphabetic  By Frequency
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Number of words
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29,415
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Number of different words
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3,471
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11.8%
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Periods, exclamations & questions:
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1,840
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Periods
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989
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53.8%
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Question marks
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235
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12.8%
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Exclamation points
|
134
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13.5%
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Commas
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2,020
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Semicolons
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482
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Colons
|
425
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Flesch reading ease
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78
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Reading grade level
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8
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Anthony and Cleopatra
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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32,695
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Number of different words
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3,891
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11.9%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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2,363
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Periods
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1,232
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52.1%
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Question marks
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255
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10.8%
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Exclamation points
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323
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26.2%
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Commas
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2,356
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Semicolons
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553
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Colons
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531
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Flesch reading ease
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82
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Reading grade level
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7
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As You Like It
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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27,730
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Number of different words
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3,255
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11.7%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,699
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Periods
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913
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53.7%
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Question marks
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292
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17.2%
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Exclamation points
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129
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14.1%
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Commas
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1,897
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Semicolons
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365
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Colons
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374
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Flesch reading ease
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80
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Reading grade level
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8
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Hamlet
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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39,476
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Number of different words
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4,686
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11.9%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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2,524
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Periods
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1,235
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48.9%
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Question marks
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424
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16.8%
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Exclamation points
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291
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23.6%
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Commas
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3,161
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Semicolons
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574
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Colons
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528
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Flesch reading ease
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80
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Reading grade level
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8
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Julius Caesar
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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25,670
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Number of different words
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2,842
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11.1%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,803
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Periods
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905
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50.2%
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Question marks
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279
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15.5%
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Exclamation points
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220
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24.3%
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Commas
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1,992
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Semicolons
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399
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Colons
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324
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Flesch reading ease
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82
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Reading grade level
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7
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King Henry IV, Part I
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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31,053
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Number of different words
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3,828
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12.3%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,946
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Periods
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954
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49.0%
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Question marks
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303
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15.6%
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Exclamation points
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229
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24.0%
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Commas
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2,348
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Semicolons
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460
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Colons
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352
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Flesch reading ease
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80
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Reading grade level
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8
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King Lear
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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34,314
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Number of different words
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4,133
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12.0%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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2,525
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Periods
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1,198
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47.4%
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Question marks
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390
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15.4%
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Exclamation points
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367
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30.6%
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Commas
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2,608
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Semicolons
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570
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Colons
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515
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Flesch reading ease
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83
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Reading grade level
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7
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Love's Labours Lost
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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31,498
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Number of different words
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3650
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11.5%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,520
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Periods
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1,060
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69.7%
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Question marks
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293
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19.2%
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Exclamation points
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267
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17.6%
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Commas
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2,233
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Semicolons
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467
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Colons
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362
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Flesch reading ease
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81
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Reading grade level
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7
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Macbeth
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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21,777
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Number of different words
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3,286
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15.1%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,450
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Periods
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719
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49.6%
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Question marks
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227
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15.7%
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Exclamation points
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220
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30.6%
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Commas
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1,471
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Semicolons
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284
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Colons
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323
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Flesch reading ease
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82
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Reading grade level
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7
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The Merchant of Venice
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| |
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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26,885
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Number of different words
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3,257
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12.1%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,574
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Periods
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811
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51.5%
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Question marks
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211
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13.4%
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Exclamation points
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168
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20.7%
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Commas
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1,970
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Semicolons
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384
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Colons
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381
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Flesch reading ease
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78
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Reading grade level
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9
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A Midsummer's Night's Dream
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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21,045
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Number of different words
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2,979
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14.2%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,372
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Periods
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673
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49.1%
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Question marks
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177
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12.9%
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Exclamation points
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173
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25.7%
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Commas
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1,740
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Semicolons
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349
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Colons
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275
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Flesch reading ease
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80
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Reading grade level
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8
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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27,667
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Number of different words
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2,955
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10.7%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,822
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Periods
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1,013
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55.6%
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Question marks
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284
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15.6%
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Exclamation points
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151
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14.9%
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Commas
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1,934
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Semicolons
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374
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Colons
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347
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Flesch reading ease
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82
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Reading grade level
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7
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Othello
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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34,812
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Number of different words
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3,760
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10.8%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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2,569
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Periods
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1,180
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45.9%
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Question marks
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421
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16.4%
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Exclamation points
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475
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40.3%
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Commas
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2,454
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Semicolons
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493
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Colons
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499
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Flesch reading ease
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83
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Reading grade level
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7
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King Richard II
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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27,571
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Number of different words
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3,646
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13.2%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,481
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Periods
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716
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48.3%
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Question marks
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230
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15.5%
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Exclamation points
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140
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19.6%
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Commas
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2,103
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Semicolons
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395
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Colons
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336
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Flesch reading ease
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76
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Reading grade level
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10
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Romeo and Juliet
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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31,903
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Number of different words
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3,678
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11.5%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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2,222
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Periods
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913
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41.1%
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Question marks
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352
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15.8%
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Exclamation points
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449
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49.2%
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Commas
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2,643
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Semicolons
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508
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Colons
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424
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Flesch reading ease
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84
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Reading grade level
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7
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The Taming of the Shrew
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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27,601
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Number of different words
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3,226
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11.7%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,836
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Periods
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896
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48.8%
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Question marks
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326
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17.8%
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Exclamation points
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227
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25.3%
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Commas
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2,279
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Semicolons
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387
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Colons
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382
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Flesch reading ease
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81
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Reading grade level
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7
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The Tempest
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Alphabetic By Frequency
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Number of words
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21,312
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|
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Number of different words
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3,150
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14.8%
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Periods, exclamations & questions
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1,465
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|
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Periods
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733
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50.0%
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Question marks
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175
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11.9%
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Exclamation points
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236
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32.2%
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Commas
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1,495
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Semicolons
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321
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Flesch reading ease
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82
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Reading grade level
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7
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