Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Quote Theme / Character / Style Language Points
lean, long, dusty, dreary Duality List of neutral / pejorative adjectives contrasted with ‘somehow lovable’ -> sets up typical Victorian
and yet somehow lovable Utterson gentleman as focaliser of first 8 chapters so reader believes his story; suggests duality of man from first
Middle class, relatable sentence of the novel
narrator
Even on Sunday, when it Duality Clothing imagery -> suggests impermanence/secrecy
veiled its more florid Setting Light vs dark imagery -> suggests good vs evil; duality of London which mirrors duality of its inhabitants
charms […] the street Poverty Simile
shone out in contrast to its
dingy neighbourhood, like
a fire in a forest
The man trampled calmly Hyde ‘trampled calmly’ – oxymoronic phrase; ‘trampled’ – violent verb has animalistic connotations; suggests
over the child’s body and Gothic horror rapidity, carelessness and aggression; ‘calmly’ – adverb suggests intentional action, no conscience, normally a
left her screaming on the Evil word associated with relaxation and a lack of movement
ground Emotive verb ‘screaming’ – (AO3) contemporary readers would have understood it to be a reference to the
undercover journalist’s scoop on child prostitution in London.
Something displeasing, Hyde Repetition of the indefinite pronoun suggests that Hyde’s negative qualities can’t be exactly determined;
something downright Evil heavy sounds of the plosive alliteration highlight these negative phrases
detestable
Too fanciful […] Lanyon Adjective ‘fanciful’ implies that Jekyll’s science is beyond the rational explanations favoured by Lanyon
unscientific balderdash Scientific advances Emotive, colloquial phrase ‘balderdash’ highlights Lanyon’s ridicule of Jekyll’s experiments
The man seems hardly Victorian fears of Alliteration adds emphasis to the phrase ‘hardly human’;
human! Something regression because of the indefinite pronoun suggests that Hyde’s atavistic qualities can’t be exactly determined.
troglodytic Darwin
the cancer of some Reputation Metaphor suggests that for Victorian gentlemen, such damaging secrets had the potential, like cancer, to
concealed disgrace Good and Evil spread and damage them – particularly their reputations; alliteration of the harsh consonant highlights this
damage; the verbal motif ‘concealed’ recurs in Chapter 10 – ‘I concealed my pleasures’ and suggests
repression.
Something of a slyish cast Jekyll The indefinite pronoun ‘something’ suggests that Jekyll’s secretive qualities can’t be exactly determined – a
perhaps, but every mark Secrecy verbal motif equally associated with Hyde which links the two characters. Duality suggested by the contrast
of capacity and kindness Duality between the perjorative adjective ‘slyish’ and the positive nouns ‘capacity’ and ‘kindness’.
Appearance and reality
Although a fog rolled Gothic setting The verb ‘rolled’ suggests the fog has agency which adds to the ominous atmosphere. Gothic trope of the ‘full
over the city in the small Secrecy (fog) moon’ foreshadows the evil actions to come and, as a plot device, allows the maid to view the murder and
hours, the early part of the report on it. Although the fog (acting as a metaphor for secrecy throughout the novel) will cover Hyde’s tracks
night was later, this ‘cloudless’ part of the night is a moment of clarity for the reader who is allowed to see his evil
Quote Theme / Character / Style Language Points
lean, long, dusty, dreary Duality List of neutral / pejorative adjectives contrasted with ‘somehow lovable’ -> sets up typical Victorian
and yet somehow lovable Utterson gentleman as focaliser of first 8 chapters so reader believes his story; suggests duality of man from first
Middle class, relatable sentence of the novel
narrator
Even on Sunday, when it Duality Clothing imagery -> suggests impermanence/secrecy
veiled its more florid Setting Light vs dark imagery -> suggests good vs evil; duality of London which mirrors duality of its inhabitants
charms […] the street Poverty Simile
shone out in contrast to its
dingy neighbourhood, like
a fire in a forest
The man trampled calmly Hyde ‘trampled calmly’ – oxymoronic phrase; ‘trampled’ – violent verb has animalistic connotations; suggests
over the child’s body and Gothic horror rapidity, carelessness and aggression; ‘calmly’ – adverb suggests intentional action, no conscience, normally a
left her screaming on the Evil word associated with relaxation and a lack of movement
ground Emotive verb ‘screaming’ – (AO3) contemporary readers would have understood it to be a reference to the
undercover journalist’s scoop on child prostitution in London.
Something displeasing, Hyde Repetition of the indefinite pronoun suggests that Hyde’s negative qualities can’t be exactly determined;
something downright Evil heavy sounds of the plosive alliteration highlight these negative phrases
detestable
Too fanciful […] Lanyon Adjective ‘fanciful’ implies that Jekyll’s science is beyond the rational explanations favoured by Lanyon
unscientific balderdash Scientific advances Emotive, colloquial phrase ‘balderdash’ highlights Lanyon’s ridicule of Jekyll’s experiments
The man seems hardly Victorian fears of Alliteration adds emphasis to the phrase ‘hardly human’;
human! Something regression because of the indefinite pronoun suggests that Hyde’s atavistic qualities can’t be exactly determined.
troglodytic Darwin
the cancer of some Reputation Metaphor suggests that for Victorian gentlemen, such damaging secrets had the potential, like cancer, to
concealed disgrace Good and Evil spread and damage them – particularly their reputations; alliteration of the harsh consonant highlights this
damage; the verbal motif ‘concealed’ recurs in Chapter 10 – ‘I concealed my pleasures’ and suggests
repression.
Something of a slyish cast Jekyll The indefinite pronoun ‘something’ suggests that Jekyll’s secretive qualities can’t be exactly determined – a
perhaps, but every mark Secrecy verbal motif equally associated with Hyde which links the two characters. Duality suggested by the contrast
of capacity and kindness Duality between the perjorative adjective ‘slyish’ and the positive nouns ‘capacity’ and ‘kindness’.
Appearance and reality
Although a fog rolled Gothic setting The verb ‘rolled’ suggests the fog has agency which adds to the ominous atmosphere. Gothic trope of the ‘full
over the city in the small Secrecy (fog) moon’ foreshadows the evil actions to come and, as a plot device, allows the maid to view the murder and
hours, the early part of the report on it. Although the fog (acting as a metaphor for secrecy throughout the novel) will cover Hyde’s tracks
night was later, this ‘cloudless’ part of the night is a moment of clarity for the reader who is allowed to see his evil
