Analysis of Stylistic Features Affecting "Descriptive Distance" in Narrative Texts

Abstract

In a story, even if the content is the same, the effect on the reader can vary greatly depending on one expression. Therefore, it is assumed that it is useful to analyze the effects of expressions on the reader. In this study, we focused on the concept of "descriptive distance" among the impressions readers receive, and analyzed and clarified stylistic features that affect descriptive distance. The analysis included basic statistical analysis, χ-square test, and co-occurrence analysis for scenes that fulfill the conditions in novels of genres in which the descriptive distance is considered to be near, medium, or far. The analysis suggests that the addition of information and euphemisms, such as the point of view and the narrator of the ground text, increases complexity, and as a result, the descriptive distance becomes closer. Then, based on the analysis results, we created a formula for calculating the descriptive distance, actually calculated the descriptive distance, and conducted an evaluation experiment. We inferred that the closer the descriptive distance is, the easier it is to judge the descriptive distance, and that in scenes with a mixture of descriptive distance features, it is more difficult to judge the descriptive distance