The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes Literary Elements

The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes Literary Elements

Genre

Suspense, Mystery, Thriller

Setting and Context

1920, London

Narrator and Point of View

Narrator is mostly Watson, except in The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier and The Adventure of the Lion's Mane, in which Holmes is the narrator.
POV is mostly the narrator, except for The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone which has been written in the third person.

Tone and Mood

Tone is mostly grave, and questioning
Mood is mostly anxious

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Sherlock Holmes with multiple antagonists

Major Conflict

Major Conflict comes from the mystery in each story, for example, who and how Maria Pinto was murdered in The Problem of the Thor Bridge

Climax

The climax is mostly the point at which the antagonist is confronted, for example, when Josh Amberley is confronted for murdering his wife in The Adventure of the Retired Colouman

Foreshadowing

'It cost one man his reason, it cost me a blood-letting, and it cost yet another man the penalties of the law.'
The line from The Adventure of the Three Garridebs foreshadow how Nathan Garrideb broke down when he discovered he had won no money, how Watson was wounded while fighting Killer Evans and how Killer Evans was sentenced by law.

Understatement

Holmes is initially underestimated by a lot of people, including policemen and some of his clients, most of whom begin to respect his powers of deduction.

Allusions

Their are many allusions to the events on early twentieth century, like Holmes' use of modern technology to trace criminals, or to the Russian surgeon, Serge Vornoff, who used extracts from animals to increase virility in humans.

Imagery

Watson is a descriptive narrator and describes most scenes vividly. He describes most places to produce an effect of mystery and anxiety on the reader.

Paradox

Holmes sends a message to Watson, "Come if convenient, if inconvenient- come all the same" which is paradoxical in nature, since Holmes asks him to come if i'ts convenient and even if it's inconvenient.

Parallelism

The stories Te Adventure of The Speckled Band and The Adventure of The Lion's Mane share many parallel points, title's metaphorical origins, confusing investigations, etc

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The name of the house The Three Gables is a synecdoche as it denotes only a part of the house, but is used to represent the entire house.
NA for Metonymy

Personification

The effigy of Holmes is personified a number of times in the play as it were Holmes instead of a wax statue.

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