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Gothic Language In Sherlock Holmes

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The Gothic language was itself a special Gothic element and had great power to create suspense and mystery, as well as making the reader feel pain as the characters do. The Gothic metonymies managed and did voice the supernatural. For example, today, rain is commonly used to stand for sorrow (it is hardly associated to happiness); the same way, Gothic words create the metonymies of horror, despair... Following Harris (2008: 1), the most common Gothic phrases are howling wind often blowing out lights, heavy rain with thunder and lightning, doors grating on rusty hinges, approaching footsteps, sighs, moans, owls, eerie sounds, lights in abandoned rooms, clanking chains, characters trapped in rooms, ruins of buildings, crazed laughter, doors suddenly slamming shut, howling of distant dogs or even wolves... The goal of using these words was to evoke the feelings of fear, unknown, terror and horror. The detective story lost at least half of these metonymies because in the real …show more content…

They are a study of people and the world around us. Every reader of Sherlock Holmes’ narratives, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, can find, if he just tries a bit, lots of ideas, phrases and sentences of deep human interest. The moralistic interest and dissemination of the ethics of living are motives shared by the great writers of all times (not only those cited here; think, for example, of Miguel de Cervantes, in whose production any reader can find moralizing or instructive aspects). In Gothic and detective stories, irreversibility of evil seems to be an increasing tendency (at least at first sight). As the plot develops and devil grows and pervades the story, there is no turning back and forgiveness seems to be a utopia rather than a possibility. But then, justice prevails over every single evil action and punishment is unavoidable: it seems to be the only way out. Consequently, both kinds of novels have their own

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