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Similes
Key Examples in The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—A Perfect Day:
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.
