Distant Reading: Understanding and Comprehending

Distant reading is a tool that is becoming more popular, as well as more fascinating and more advanced. As Edward Whitley says, “…the virtue of information visualization is that it can make complex data sets more accessible than they might otherwise be…” (188). Distant readings allow us to draw comparisons between different words and events in texts that a reader may not have caught through a close reading. An example of this involves using a word cloud. When inserting the text from Powell’s diary into a word cloud, one can see where there is more emphasis on some words verses others.

In the word cloud above, it is clear that there is much emphasis on words such as “indians,” “bro,” and “Powell.” By seeing the “Powell” involved, it immediately tells you that he himself is a part of the events that he explains and writes about. Whitley also writes, “…the goal in visualizing data from a literary text (or body of texts) is to spark inquiry” (189). Another distant reading tool, RezoViz, enables you to see the connection of one word to others through out a text. In a sense, it shows how groups of words can be connected through central figures.

In this RezoViz, you are able to see how the word “Indians” is connected to other names and terms such as “Antone,” “Mrs. Harris,” and “Powell.” In this diagram, Powell is the central figure, a result of the fact that he wrote the diary and these were his experiences. Edward Whitley finally says, “…these scholars have used digital technology to search for patterns and to trace broad outlines…” (188). In a third distant reading tool, a scatter plot, you are able to see the frequency of several words and the percentage of explanation that they have. Each distant reading tool serves a different purpose, however each one of them provides the reader with different information associated with a text.