Unseen crime practice essay 2
The Adventure of the Speckled Bard
Arthur Conan Doyle
Plan
SETTING; ‘Manor House’ suggests isolated, upper-class setting (marking a contrast from the
typical urban setting, Widdowson 2004), pathetic fallacy of the ‘chill wind blowing in our
faces’ combined with the setting of the ‘dark road’ at ‘the stroke of eleven’ creates tension
and suspense
CLUES/INVESTIGATION; ‘the strange pets which the doctor affected’, clue to the
investigators, Watson’s interrogative ‘did you see it?’ is needed to allow for our
understanding (Knox’s rules), relationship of the omniscient detective and his inferior
partner
SUSPENSE; ‘The least sound would be fatal to our plans…your very life may depend upon it’,
use of dialogue increases the tension and notifies us that this is the climax, they lock
themselves the room thus drawing attention to locked-room mystery, ‘waited in absolute
darkness’
CLUES/INVESTIGATION; ‘Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern’, suspense created
by ambiguity in language but important clue, Holmes uses intellect to solve the crime asking
Watson ‘You see it?’ but he ‘saw nothing’, they are forced to rely on sound not sight as
Watson ‘heard a low, clear whistle’
CLIMAX; superlative suggests we’re at the climax ‘suddenly there broke from the silence the
most horrible cry to which I have ever listened’, Watson asks the questions the reader needs
answered ‘What can it mean?’, extract ends when they ‘enter Dr Roylott’s room’ (he is the
chief suspect), preparing the way for restoration of order
Response
This extract, taking place during the pursuit of the chief suspect in The Adventure of the
Speckled Bard, is notable for its isolated rather than urban setting; the inclusion of clues as devices
to solve the crime; and the classic relationship between the sleuth and his sidekick. It is a typical
example of a locked-room mystery given that Doyle relies heavily on the element of suspense
instead of surprise in order to create tension and sets this climactic scene inside a country-house.
It is the juxtaposition of the rural setting with the criminal world which makes The Adventure
of the Speckled Bard such an interesting read. We are introduced to ‘the Manor House’, which
immediately conveys the parochial but elegant backdrop to the crime; according to Widdowson
(2004), ‘real-life crime has generally been considered to be a product of the city’, committed by
working-class individuals often with a financial motive. Therefore, Doyle’s somewhat unconventional
choice of setting serves to emphasise the shocking nature of the crime that the detective, Holmes,
must bring to justice. It could also contain a moral purpose in suggesting that crime is not limited to
the proletariat in seedy areas and affects all areas of society, a concept later popularised by Golden
Age writers such as Christie. The isolation of the house is enhanced by the use of pathetic fallacy in
the ‘chill wind’ that was ‘blowing in (their) faces’ and by the reference to ‘the stroke of eleven’, both
of which foreshadow danger and thus create the tension we come to expect of works of crime
fiction at the climactic stage.
Another interesting feature of this extract are the ‘strange’ and threatening ‘pets’ living
within the suspect’s estate such as ‘a cheetah’. It can be assumed that Holmes has deduced from the
The Adventure of the Speckled Bard
Arthur Conan Doyle
Plan
SETTING; ‘Manor House’ suggests isolated, upper-class setting (marking a contrast from the
typical urban setting, Widdowson 2004), pathetic fallacy of the ‘chill wind blowing in our
faces’ combined with the setting of the ‘dark road’ at ‘the stroke of eleven’ creates tension
and suspense
CLUES/INVESTIGATION; ‘the strange pets which the doctor affected’, clue to the
investigators, Watson’s interrogative ‘did you see it?’ is needed to allow for our
understanding (Knox’s rules), relationship of the omniscient detective and his inferior
partner
SUSPENSE; ‘The least sound would be fatal to our plans…your very life may depend upon it’,
use of dialogue increases the tension and notifies us that this is the climax, they lock
themselves the room thus drawing attention to locked-room mystery, ‘waited in absolute
darkness’
CLUES/INVESTIGATION; ‘Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern’, suspense created
by ambiguity in language but important clue, Holmes uses intellect to solve the crime asking
Watson ‘You see it?’ but he ‘saw nothing’, they are forced to rely on sound not sight as
Watson ‘heard a low, clear whistle’
CLIMAX; superlative suggests we’re at the climax ‘suddenly there broke from the silence the
most horrible cry to which I have ever listened’, Watson asks the questions the reader needs
answered ‘What can it mean?’, extract ends when they ‘enter Dr Roylott’s room’ (he is the
chief suspect), preparing the way for restoration of order
Response
This extract, taking place during the pursuit of the chief suspect in The Adventure of the
Speckled Bard, is notable for its isolated rather than urban setting; the inclusion of clues as devices
to solve the crime; and the classic relationship between the sleuth and his sidekick. It is a typical
example of a locked-room mystery given that Doyle relies heavily on the element of suspense
instead of surprise in order to create tension and sets this climactic scene inside a country-house.
It is the juxtaposition of the rural setting with the criminal world which makes The Adventure
of the Speckled Bard such an interesting read. We are introduced to ‘the Manor House’, which
immediately conveys the parochial but elegant backdrop to the crime; according to Widdowson
(2004), ‘real-life crime has generally been considered to be a product of the city’, committed by
working-class individuals often with a financial motive. Therefore, Doyle’s somewhat unconventional
choice of setting serves to emphasise the shocking nature of the crime that the detective, Holmes,
must bring to justice. It could also contain a moral purpose in suggesting that crime is not limited to
the proletariat in seedy areas and affects all areas of society, a concept later popularised by Golden
Age writers such as Christie. The isolation of the house is enhanced by the use of pathetic fallacy in
the ‘chill wind’ that was ‘blowing in (their) faces’ and by the reference to ‘the stroke of eleven’, both
of which foreshadow danger and thus create the tension we come to expect of works of crime
fiction at the climactic stage.
Another interesting feature of this extract are the ‘strange’ and threatening ‘pets’ living
within the suspect’s estate such as ‘a cheetah’. It can be assumed that Holmes has deduced from the
