RELI/ENGL 39, Fall 2015, University of the Pacific

Voyant ft. Test-Corpus-2

test-corpus-2

 

 

Voyant was not easy to use at first, but it soon made perfect sense. I thought it was immensely interesting to see how it could break down the texts and not only extract individual words, but also showcase detailed graphs and more.

Although some people think Voyant is unnecessary, I think it’s a pretty cool program to have. I believe it actually can help us understand a text more. For instance, seeing which words appear the most can help us understand the author’s thought process and emphasis on certain ideas. In addition, it can display certain words (ex. life and death) to demonstrate contrasting elements in the story. Even if people do not use it for these purposes or deem the program useless, the aesthetics of Voyant stand out regardless of its contribution to our understanding of various works.

4 Comments

  1. Zephyre

    I still think Voyant is a bit difficult to use. It’s quite confusing, and by itself, it doesn’t really give an explanation on how to use it. After adapting to the various tools does the program become easier and more productive to use. It does suffice in gathering data on word usage, but reading the actual paper may prove to be more helpful in the long run ( or at least it’d be simpler).

    • Amaris

      I agree with your statement! Reading the actual paper would be better and more helpful for me, too. However, I just think that programs like Voyant can act as a tool to enhance our understanding of a work even further.

  2. r_baig

    Awesome post. I like how you talked about the uses of Voyant, and how it is helpful for YOU, and that’s what its all about. Voyant can help people in different ways, but I’m glad you found the way that it worked for you. Great Job!!

    • Amaris

      Thank you! I appreciate your feedback on my post. I’m sure many people will be able to use Voyant to cater to their liking as well.

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