The Return of Sherlock Holmes Literary Elements

The Return of Sherlock Holmes Literary Elements

Genre

Murder mystery

Setting and Context

1894, London

Narrator and Point of View

John Watson

Tone and Mood

Suspenseful

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Sherlock Holmes with Lieutenant Sebastian Moran as antagonist

Major Conflict

Major conflict is that no one can know that Holmes survived the face-off with Moriarity.

Climax

The maximum tension arrives as Holmes and Watson witness Moran setting up a rifle to assassinate Holmes through his bedroom window.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is created through multiple clues left by the characters in the stories. For example, in the Dancing Men, Holmes deduces that the dancing men thought to be drawn as a prank are a way to send encrypted messages.

Understatement

As a character, Holmes possesses remarkable logical and analytic powers which are repeatedly underplayed or underestimated by the other individuals in the stories.

Allusions

There are many allusions to the novelties in early twentieth century, like the long-range rifle used to assassinate a man without creating a crime scene and thus, leaving no clue.

Imagery

In 'The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist', the imagery of Violet Smith riding her bicycle alone and then being followed by a mysterious but menacing figure creates a sense of foreboding

Paradox

Holmes lets go of the woman who is responsible for the murder of Milverton in' The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton', as he feels a conflict with his conscious. This is paradoxical in nature for him.

Parallelism

There is a certain parallel between the stories of Solitary Cyclist and the Copper Beeches. Both have young unmarried women who seem to be in danger in mysterious circumstances.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

The Six Napoleons denote the three busts of Napoleon and thus create a personification of the statues.

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