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Python Script (“Darkness there and nothing
more...”)
from collections import Counter
import networkx as nx, community
with open("LOB TEXT.txt", encoding="latin-1") as infile:
text = infile.read()
text = text[text.index("revision =") + len("revision ="):
text.index("=END OF PLAY=")]
lines = [line for line in map(str.strip, text.split("n")) if line]
# Locate characters and scene/act boundaries
lines = [line if not (line.startswith("=") and line.endswith("=")) else "$" for line in lines]
synonyms = {'DUKE' : 'DUKE OF BOUNCE', 'DUCHESS' : 'DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE', 'EDGAR' : 'POE',}
chars = [synonyms.get(line, line) for line in lines if line.isupper() or line=='$']
G = nx.DiGraph([(*edge, {'weight': w}) for edge, w in Counter(zip(chars, chars[1:])).items()])
G.remove_nodes_from(['$', 'É?'])
nx.set_node_attributes(G, dict(G.in_degree(weight='weight')), "speak")
nx.set_node_attributes(G, nx.betweenness_centrality(G), "betw")
nx.set_node_attributes(G, community.best_partition(nx.Graph(G)), "part")
nx.write_graphml(G, "characters.graphml")](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/presentation-181023030840/75/A-Quaint-and-Curious-Volume-of-Forgotten-Lore-or-an-Exercise-in-Digital-Humanities-6-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byDmitry Zinoviev
“A Quaint and Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore,” or an Exercise in Digital Humanities
The document discusses the application of digital humanities (DH) methods to Wesley Savick's play 'Loss of Breath' to analyze character interactions and contributions using computational tools. It outlines the process, including text annotation, character identification, interaction detection, community clustering, and measuring centrality within the narrative. Key findings reveal five interconnected storylines, each highlighting different character dynamics.
“A Quaint and Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore,” or an Exercise in Digital Humanities
- 1. “A Quaint andCurious Volume of Forgotten Lore,” or an Exercise in Digital Humanities Dmitry Zinoviev (Math & Computer Science) Fall 2018
- 2. 2 Digital Humanities (DH)incorporate the methodologies from traditional humanities disciplines... ...such as history, philosophy, linguistics, literature, theater, art, archaeology, music, and cultural studies… ...and integrate them with computing-oriented tools… ...hypertext and hypermedia, data visualization, information retrieval, digital mapping, digital archives, digital publishing, complex network analysis, media analysis, data mining, statistics, and text mining.
- 3. 3 Source and Goals ●Source: Loss of Breath. The Unfinished Life and Death of Edgar Allan Poe, a play in two acts for puppets and masks by Wesley Savick ● Goals: Apply DH methods to the text of the play to extract and rank characters, their interactions, and collaborations
- 4. 4 Start with the“Raw” Text SKELETON ...a willful, if not futile, consolation. And yet, even so, our sky, Once so clear and blue, Darkened... =THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH= Part One DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. DUKE OF BOUNCE No pestilence had ever been so fatal...
- 5. 5 Annotate Text SKELETON ...a willful,if not futile, consolation. And yet, even so, our sky, Once so clear and blue, Darkened... =THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH= Part One DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. DUKE OF BOUNCE No pestilence had ever been so fatal... Character New scene (end of any interaction) Character Character Interaction
- 6. 6 Python Script (“Darknessthere and nothing more...”) from collections import Counter import networkx as nx, community with open("LOB TEXT.txt", encoding="latin-1") as infile: text = infile.read() text = text[text.index("revision =") + len("revision ="): text.index("=END OF PLAY=")] lines = [line for line in map(str.strip, text.split("n")) if line] # Locate characters and scene/act boundaries lines = [line if not (line.startswith("=") and line.endswith("=")) else "$" for line in lines] synonyms = {'DUKE' : 'DUKE OF BOUNCE', 'DUCHESS' : 'DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE', 'EDGAR' : 'POE',} chars = [synonyms.get(line, line) for line in lines if line.isupper() or line=='$'] G = nx.DiGraph([(*edge, {'weight': w}) for edge, w in Counter(zip(chars, chars[1:])).items()]) G.remove_nodes_from(['$', 'É?']) nx.set_node_attributes(G, dict(G.in_degree(weight='weight')), "speak") nx.set_node_attributes(G, nx.betweenness_centrality(G), "betw") nx.set_node_attributes(G, community.best_partition(nx.Graph(G)), "part") nx.write_graphml(G, "characters.graphml")
- 7. 7 Identify Interacting Characters BARKER SKELETON MRSPOE MUDDY VIRGINIA POE LACK O' BREATH V/O COACH DRIVER THIRD GENTLEMAN SECOND GENTLEMAN FIRST GENTLEMAN CROW LANDLORD SURGEON GUARD ONE GUARD TWO PRISONER SHADOW PROSPERO DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE DUKE OF BOUNCE ENSEMBLE ENSEMBLE SOLO BUFFOONS ALL BALLET DANCERS IMPROVISATORI MUSICIANS BEAUTIES SOMMELIERS BUFFOON SOMMELIER DUKE AND DUCHESS BALLET DANCER TBA WAKI CHORUS SH'TE CROW
- 8. 8 Identify Interactions BARKER SKELETON MRS POE MUDDY VIRGINIA POE LACKO' BREATH V/O COACH DRIVER THIRD GENTLEMAN SECOND GENTLEMAN FIRST GENTLEMAN CROW LANDLORD SURGEON GUARD ONE GUARD TWO PRISONER SHADOW PROSPERO DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE DUKE OF BOUNCE ENSEMBLE ENSEMBLE SOLO BUFFOONS ALL BALLET DANCERS IMPROVISATORI MUSICIANS BEAUTIES SOMMELIERS BUFFOON SOMMELIER DUKE AND DUCHESS BALLET DANCER TBA WAKI CHORUS SH'TE CROW The thicker = the stronger
- 9. 9 Calculate Contributions BARKER SKELETON MRS POE MUDDY VIRGINIA POE LACKO' BREATH V/O COACH DRIVER THIRD GENTLEMAN SECOND GENTLEMAN FIRST GENTLEMAN CROW LANDLORD SURGEON GUARD ONE GUARD TWO PRISONER SHADOW PROSPERO DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE DUKE OF BOUNCE ENSEMBLE ENSEMBLE SOLO BUFFOONS ALL BALLET DANCERS IMPROVISATORI MUSICIANS BEAUTIES SOMMELIERS BUFFOON SOMMELIER DUKE AND DUCHESS BALLET DANCER TBA WAKI CHORUS SH'TE CROW The bigger = the louder
- 10. 10 Detect Communities (Clusters) BARKER SKELETON MRSPOE MUDDY VIRGINIA POE LACK O' BREATH V/O COACH DRIVER THIRD GENTLEMAN SECOND GENTLEMAN FIRST GENTLEMAN CROW LANDLORD SURGEON GUARD ONE GUARD TWO PRISONER SHADOW PROSPERO DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE DUKE OF BOUNCE ENSEMBLE ENSEMBLE SOLO BUFFOONS ALL BALLET DANCERS IMPROVISATORI MUSICIANS BEAUTIES SOMMELIERS BUFFOON SOMMELIER DUKE AND DUCHESS BALLET DANCER TBA WAKI CHORUS SH'TE CROW Clusters = separate major story lines
- 11. 11 Compute Betweenness Centrality BARKER SKELETON MRSPOE MUDDY VIRGINIA POE LACK O' BREATH V/O COACH DRIVER THIRD GENTLEMAN SECOND GENTLEMAN FIRST GENTLEMAN CROW LANDLORD SURGEON GUARD ONE GUARD TWO PRISONER SHADOW PROSPERO DUCHESS OF FLOUNCE DUKE OF BOUNCE ENSEMBLE ENSEMBLE SOLO BUFFOONS ALL BALLET DANCERS IMPROVISATORI MUSICIANS BEAUTIES SOMMELIERS BUFFOON SOMMELIER DUKE AND DUCHESS BALLET DANCER TBA WAKI CHORUS SH'TE CROW “Central” = “essential”
- 12. 12 Results ● Five storylines: – The “Waki / Sh’te / Chorus” line – The “Prospero” line – The “Skeleton” line – The “V/O” line (what’s V/ O?) – The “Duke of Bounce” line ● The lines are loosely connected (but the first line is quite isolated) ● Could estimate the dynamics of switching from one line to another (but didn’t)
- 13.