Tracing the Evolution of Victor Hugo's Writing Style - A Digital Humanities Approach to 19th Century Literary Analysis

Professor Introduction

Y. L | Ph.D. in  Natural Language Processing

Home Institute：École Normale Supérieure, Paris.

Project Description

This project aims to explore and analyze the evolution of the writing style of Victor Hugo, a prominent 19th-century French novelist, through the lens of digital humanities. Utilizing computational tools and techniques, the research will examine language patterns, themes, and literary techniques in Hugo's major works to trace the development of his writing style throughout his career. These findings will illuminate the author's artistic growth and contribute to a deeper understanding of the broader context of 19th-century literary evolution.

Project Keywords

Project Outline

Part 1: Introduction to Digital Humanities and 19th Century Literature
• Overview of fundamental concepts in digital humanities and 19th-century literature.
• Historical context of Victor Hugo's literary career.
• Applications and relevance to current literary and computational research.

Part 2: Theoretical Frameworks
• Exploration of theories related to literary analysis and natural language processing (NLP).
• Examination of key principles in digital humanities and their application to literary studies.
• Discussion on the role of computational tools in analyzing literary texts.

Part 3:  Literature Review
• In-depth reading and analysis of existing literature on Victor Hugo and digital humanities.
• Identification of major viewpoints and debates in current research.
• Discussion on research gaps and the significance of this study.

Part 4:  Research Methods
• Introduction to qualitative and quantitative research methods used in digital humanities.
• Techniques for textual analysis, theme extraction, and literary pattern recognition.
• Practical exercises to develop computational and analytical skills.

Part 5:  Data Collection and Preparation
• Collection of digital texts of Victor Hugo's major works.
• Preprocessing of textual data for computational analysis (e.g., tokenization, lemmatization).
• Creation of a structured corpus for analysis.

Part 6: Language Pattern Analysis
• Application of NLP techniques to analyze language patterns in Hugo's works.
• Examination of vocabulary usage, sentence structure, and stylistic elements.
• Visualization of language patterns and their evolution over time.

Part 7: Thematic Analysis
• Identification and extraction of recurring themes in Hugo's novels.
• Analysis of thematic development and its correlation with historical and personal contexts.
• Discussion on the significance of thematic evolution in Hugo's literary career.

Part 8: Literary Technique Analysis
• Analysis of literary techniques (e.g., metaphors, symbolism) used by Hugo.
• Examination of changes in literary techniques across different works.
• Discussion on the artistic evolution reflected in Hugo's use of literary techniques.

Part 9:  Comparative Analysis
• Comparative analysis of Hugo's early, middle, and late works.
• Identification of stylistic shifts and their implications for understanding Hugo's artistic growth.
• Discussion on the broader context of 19th-century literary evolution.

Part 10:  Empirical Results and Discussion
• Presentation and interpretation of research findings.
• Discussion of the significance and impact of findings.
• Identification of research limitations and suggestions for improvement.

Part 11: Ethical and Practical Implications
• Exploration of ethical considerations in digital humanities research.
• Discussion on the practical implications of using computational tools in literary analysis.
• Practical suggestions for integrating digital humanities into literary studies.

Part 12: Future Research Directions
• Discussion of current trends and challenges in digital humanities and literary analysis.
• Identification of open problems and future research directions.
• Encouragement for student-led research projects.

Part 13: Conclusion and Summary
• Summary of the main findings and conclusions.
• Discussion of contributions to literature and digital humanities.
• Recommendations for future research and practice.

Part 14: Research Paper and Presentation
• Guidance on writing a well-structured research paper.
• Tips for effective academic writing.
• Instructions on preparing and delivering an engaging oral presentation.

Suitable for

High School Students:  
• Interested in literature and computer science, preparing for advanced studies or competitions.
• Basic knowledge of literary analysis and computational tools.

University Students:
• Majoring in literature, computer science, or related fields, seeking to deepen understanding and engage in research.
• Familiar with basic theories of literary criticism and computational analysis.