Conclusion

In conclusion, it was found that drug use is still a prevalent action, and its representations can be seen in the literary works written and published in of the US and UK during 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th centuries. Statistics showed that drug use are similarly prevalent in the US and UK.

The writers lived during 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries reflected their experiences and knowledge on their literary works in relation to their drug use.

Through the information obtained from distant reading and analyses, in general, it was found that their experiences were different and various.

There is a frequent use of words related to opium. For example, in the book by De Quincey, the word “opium” was repeated 172 times. In another book called “Trainspotting”, related words like “Opium”, “Drugs” and so on were also mentioned frequently.

In some parts, there were positive words detected, this might indicate that the writer reflects his positive thoughts and emotions regarding the drug use. For example, in the poem by Coleridge, there were many words like sunny, gardens, river, and beauty which are regarded as positive words. From this point of view, it can be claimed that the writer has positive inclination toward drug use.

In all works, the tense of the sentences was past tense. This might be indicating that the characters and writers were talking about their past mostly. For example, in the work called “Junky”, the verbal phrases like “said”, “went” and “got” were used many times. “said” was used 346 times and it was the most frequently used word.