Python驱动的文本节奏分析：《老人与海》的叙事韵律与情节关联

Python-Driven Analysis of Textual Rhythm: Narrative Rhythm and Its Correlation with Plot Development in The Old Man and the Sea

摘要: 本文立足于数字人文研究背景，尝试将传统文学分析与计算方法相结合，以海明威《老人与海》(The Old Man and the Sea, 1952)这一语言风格高度凝练的经典文本为研究对象，探讨叙事节奏的可量化特征与情节推进之间的内在关系。研究围绕文本节奏的动态变化展开，重点分析句长、标点使用、句式结构及行动动词分布在不同叙事阶段(出海、搏斗、鲨袭与返航)中的差异及其叙事功能。方法上，基于Python构建文本分析流程，对原始文本进行清洗与预处理，并采用滑动窗口切片策略提取多维节奏指标，通过统计与可视化手段刻画节奏演化规律。研究结果表明，文本中节奏突变与情节转折高度对应，整体呈现出“张弛交替、冲突驱动”的叙事韵律特征，且行动动词密度与句长之间存在显著反向变化关系，验证了海明威通过语言节奏强化叙事张力的写作策略，同时也证明了该量化方法在文学节奏研究中的可行性与可复制性。

Abstract: This study is situated within the framework of digital humanities and seeks to integrate traditional literary analysis with computational methods. Taking The Old Man and the Sea (1952) by Ernest Hemingway—a canonical text noted for its highly condensed linguistic style—as the object of inquiry, the research explores the intrinsic relationship between quantifiable features of narrative rhythm and plot progression. Focusing on the dynamic variation of textual rhythm, the study examines differences in sentence length, punctuation usage, syntactic structures, and the distribution of action verbs across distinct narrative phases (departure, struggle, shark attacks, and return), as well as their respective narrative functions. Methodologically, a Python-based text analysis pipeline is constructed to clean and preprocess the original text. A sliding-window segmentation strategy is employed to extract multidimensional rhythmic indicators, which are then analyzed through statistical and visualization techniques to map patterns of rhythmic evolution. The findings indicate a strong correspondence between rhythmic shifts and plot transitions, revealing an overall narrative pattern characterized by alternating tension and release, driven by conflict. Moreover, a significant inverse relationship is observed between action verb density and sentence length. These results not only substantiate Hemingway’s stylistic strategy of enhancing narrative tension through linguistic rhythm but also demonstrate the feasibility and replicability of quantitative approaches in the study of literary rhythm.