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Setting
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
"A Scandal in Bohemia" acquaints the reader with Doyle's rich yet coherent style. The short story consists of a balanced mixture between descriptive narration and witty dialogue. He also adds other pieces of text into this mix, as Watson embeds letters written to Holmes into the body of the short story. Over the course of the narrative, Doyle uses diction and literary devices to develop character relationships and the overall atmosphere. Even if this story is less suspenseful than many other Sherlock Holmes stories, he nevertheless keeps the reader engaged and curious by steadily inserting intriguing details into the plot and maintaining a mysterious mood.
Throughout the story, Doyle writes with a vivid style. He makes extensive use of visual imagery as well as of figurative language, frequently relying on metaphors and idioms. Additionally, he occasionally uses sarcasm and humor to balance out the seriousness and suspense that otherwise accompanies the genre. Nevertheless, Doyle's style can also be described as direct and accessible. His language may be vivid, but it rarely feels over-embellished. Because his stories were published serially in the Strand magazine, it was necessary for his language to remain intelligible and appealing to a wide audience.
Another decisive stylistic feature is Doyle's choice to write the Sherlock Holmes stories from the first-person point of view—and that this first-person narrator is not Holmes, but rather Watson, who is observing Holmes. This makes it possible for Doyle to anticipate his reader's potential awe or questions regarding Holmes through the eyes of someone equally fascinated by the detective. It is certain that "A Scandal in Bohemia" would read very differently if it were narrated by Holmes himself or by a third-person narrator totally removed from the story's events.
