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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Key Examples in The Red-Headed League
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of “The Red-Headed League” is lighthearted, entertaining, and suspenseful. While some of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories enter a darker or more ominous register, “The Red-Headed League” is one of his lighter stories. After all, over the course of the story, only silly (rather than serious) crimes are committed, such as the criminal mastermind Clay pretending to be Wilson’s innocent assistant “Spaulding,” and he and his accomplice Archie going to elaborate lengths to convince Wilson to work for the fake Red-Headed League.
Even in the climactic scene, in which Holmes captures Clay tunneling into the cellar of a bank to rob it, the mood remains surprisingly lighthearted, as seen in the following passage:
Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes’s hunting crop came down on the man’s wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor.
“It’s no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. “You have no chance at all.”
“So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.”
Related Themes:
