APPENDIX III: Mendenhall-type 'Characteristic Curves'
Jonathan Swift is represented, hardly surprisingly, by the whole of Gulliver's Travels. Half of each of the four voyages (Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa and the Land of the Houyhnhnms) contributed to each of the two profiles. The resulting figures were:
| Word Length (letters) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Jonathan Swift (1) | 2113 | 8051 | 8224 | 7017 | 5000 | 3362 | 2958 | 1767 |
| Jonathan Swift (2) | 3298 | 12084 | 12610 | 10596 | 7491 | 5089 | 4996 | 3034 |
| Word Length (letters) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Jonathan Swift (1) | 1160 | 750 | 397 | 160 | 85 | 19 | 7 |
| Jonathan Swift (2) | 2014 | 1260 | 691 | 328 | 151 | 51 | 16 |
Pearson's coefficient of correlation, showing how far the two profiles are similar to each other, works out at r=.99933 (where r=1 would indicate identical profiles).
Jane Austen's novels Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Persuasion were similarly bisected in each case. The resulting profiles were:
| Word Length (letters) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Jane Austen (1) | 4878 | 26736 | 33032 | 24852 | 14246 | 10744 | 9265 | 5742 |
| Jane Austen (2) | 4686 | 26694 | 33643 | 25602 | 14875 | 10620 | 9089 | 5949 |
| Word Length (letters) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Jane Austen (1) | 5146 | 2628 | 1369 | 778 | 414 | 120 | 37 |
| Jane Austen (2) | 4917 | 2713 | 1468 | 828 | 404 | 128 | 23 |
The correlation between the two profiles, as is quite clear, was again very high (at r=.99974).
A very different 'characteristic curve', with a sharp peak at 3-letter words, appears from a whole assortment of Longfellow's poems. Only the longest of these (The Song of Hiawatha) needed to be split in two. The profiles were:
| Word Length (letters) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| H. W. Longfellow (1) | 526 | 3842 | 7329 | 4806 | 3549 | 2763 | 2146 | 1543 |
| H. W. Longfellow (2) | 651 | 3682 | 7301 | 4950 | 3470 | 2688 | 2109 | 1373 |
| Word Length (letters) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| H. W. Longfellow (1) | 802 | 332 | 168 | 45 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| H. W. Longfellow (2) | 708 | 324 | 109 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
An assortment of Thomas Middleton's plays, thanks to Chris Cleary's excellent collection, allowed me enough material simply to take two lots of plays at random, giving the following profiles:
| Word Length (letters) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Thomas Middleton (1) | 5604 | 16620 | 23375 | 22610 | 13339 | 7726 | 5470 | 3204 |
| Thomas Middleton (2) | 5413 | 16211 | 23553 | 22454 | 12820 | 7836 | 5712 | 3114 |
| Word Length (letters) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| Thomas Middleton (1) | 1832 | 883 | 398 | 146 | 69 | 16 | 4 |
| Thomas Middleton (2) | 1858 | 876 | 365 | 117 | 69 | 13 | 7 |