The Return of Sherlock Holmes Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory

Hunting metaphors and jungle imagery are motifs, recurring in nearly every story in The Return of Sherlock Holmes. Watson frequently compares crime-fighting to hunting, casting himself and Holmes a...

Sherlock Holmes is a sort of paragon, or model, for science and rationality. He's frequently described as "cold," "inhuman," logical, etc. The man is practically a robot at times. Holmes is the ult...

Crime-solving as theater is a comparison that appears in nearly every story in this collection. Watson notes that their house in Baker Street is like a stage (Priory School.1). In fact, Sherlock Ho...

As we noted in the "Writing Style" section, journalism plays an important role in the narrative of Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson's own narrative style has a lot in common with the style of 1890s...

The modes of transportation featured in these stories help to characterize the 1890s and act as important symbols. Trains and bicycles are especially important in the universe of Sherlock Holmes. T...