During the train journey from Sherlock's office to the manor at Stoke Moran, Watson is struck by the jarring contrast between the beautiful weather on the one hand, and the sinister murder that he is investigating on the other. Here, situational irony heightens the ominous mood of the story. Watson describes the weather as follows:
It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we were engaged.
The beauty of the landscape seems perverse given the disturbing nature of Julia Roylott's murder; the rich natural imagery here would be a fitting backdrop for a picnic—not a murder investigation. Moreover, it is notable that the natural imagery here focuses on new life, especially in its description of the "first green shoots" and "sweet promise" of the spring. By contrast, Sherlock and Watson's investigation is concerned with death. By establishing this troubling contrast, the story generates situational irony, which only heightens the reader's sense of foreboding.
When Sherlock and Watson wait in total darkness in Helen's room, the story uses extensive non-visual sensory detail to enhance the foreboding and suspenseful mood.
The shutters cut off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. From outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall.
This description is notable for its extensive use of auditory imagery: Watson points out the cry of a bird, the whine of Roylott's cheetah, and the sound of the parish clock striking the hours. This emphasis on non-visual detail reflects the fact that the total darkness—as well as the "state of nervous tension"—in which Watson finds himself has left him particularly attuned to what he hears. Moreover, the sound of the parish clock striking the late-night hours heightens the suspense by accentuating the agonizing length of the wait.
Through heightened imagery in its description of Dr. Grimesby Roylott's physical appearance, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" provides insight into his corrupt and monstrous nature. When Dr. Roylott barges into Sherlock's office, Watson describes him in the following manner:
His costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey.
The imagery in Doyle's description of Roylott accentuates the animalistic aspects of his appearance. Due to his preoccupation with exotic animals, his professional outfit of hat, coat, and gaiters has been overtaken by the "agricultural" to the extent that he resembles a hunting bird. Because of the story's Victorian-influenced theme of exoticism, the emphasis on the "yellow" tones of his appearance alludes to his cultural otherness as a result of his time in the East. The story thus uses imagery to portray Dr. Roylott as a monstrous figure even before the reader confirms that he is responsible for his daughter's murder.
