The “Sherlock Holmes” stories were not exactly what I had expected them to be, but I can certainly see the appeal of them to citizens of 19^thcentury London. London was not necessarily the best place to be in the world during this time. With industrialization on the rise along with the population, common people endured many hardships. Workhouses were run under absolutely abhorrent conditions and generally it did not seem like any one “higher up” in society cared much about the working and lower classes. I’m not entirely certain what type of place detectives would have held in society during this time, but it seems as though the work Holmes does in London is very important. As a crucial part of his character, he is highly observant—so much so that he can almost tell someone’s entire life story just by looking at them. At a time where generalizations of masses were seemingly so common, having a character individualize his clients in such a way as Holmes does serves as a reminder of individuality amongst the people inhabiting London.

The city itself plays a rather important role in Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” stories. Where in London events take place are rather vital to the story line. In “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” our heroes get sent all over London trying to find the primary source of the goose stuffed with jewels. London itself, its geography and its inhabitants, play a large role in these stories. Holmes and Watson are not just doing these things to help their clients, they also do it to protect the city and everything that encompasses it.

The scene where Mr. Darcy initially proposes to Elizabeth is arguable the most important scene in the novel and is a major turning point. Until this moment, both parties have been repressing their feelings for one another. Although it doesn’t turn out exactly how Mr. Darcy was hoping, this scene airs many if not all of the grievances between the two, and it is during this fight that Mr. Darcy learns everything he did that made Elizabeth lose favor for him. Darcy takes the opportunity to not only explicitly write out to Elizabeth why everything happened how it did, but he goes and does everything in his power to fix the wrongs he did. The scene itself is beautifully written, as is the whole novel, and sets a perfect tone for the moment. There is tons of negative diction throughout the scene. You could look anywhere on the pages and see words with more negative connotations and denotations, but one place where it really sticks out is where Austen explains that “in spite of her [Elizabeth’s] deeply rooted dislike…she was at fist sorry for the pain he was to receive…” and how overcome with anger she is at the whole situation.

As the argument builds, the sentence structure of the dialogue becomes interesting to follow because it is definitely reminiscent and reflective of a real life argument. Longer sentences start off speech paragraphs, as the individuals rapidly argue a major point they have. As these bits of dialogue continue, sentences become shorter and reflect the anger in both characters that is coming out rapidly in different points they have rolling off their tongues. It is also interesting to note that this scene takes place in Mr. and Mrs. Collins’ home, not in any environment that’s particularly comfortable, familiar, or important to either character. Not just this, but it is also the home of a marriage of compromise, not true love. Darcy could not have possibly been set up for worse success than he is in this scene between the context of Elizabeth’s feelings for him, the setting being in such a home, and Austen’s constant use of negative language. However, it is the passion built between all of these things and the characters themselves that eventually drive them together in the end.

Literature from 19^thcentury England portrays London in many different ways. The fact that this time was very controversial era between the success and beauty of the city and the treatment of the working and lower-class citizens is reflected through the works of writers such as William Blake and Charles Dickens. In Blake’s poem “London,” he details the tragedy that is the lives of common Londoners. Every face Blake sees has “marks of weakness, marks of woe.” His repetition of the work “every” emphasizes how widespread these injustices are and show that every man, every infant, every person he sees is suffering. Men and children are crying, soldiers are dying, women are forced into lives as harlots and have even more children that cannot be taken care of. The image Blake paints of London in this poem is a dreadful and almost hyperbolic one, and one that represents disgust for a city plagued with such horrors.

In his essay “Night Walks” Charles Dickens paints a more realistic but equally depressing image of London. Blake focuses on the weariness of the people in his poem, but Dickens acknowledges it as a whole in London; not just found in the people, but in the rivers and architecture as well. Dickens is more realistic in his portrayal in that there seems to be no use of hyperbole in his text, but rather a tone of frankness. For example, he states that “to walk on to the Bank, lamenting the good old times and bemoaning the present evil period, would be an easy next step, so I would take it…” He is rather straightforward in not only his admitting that the present times are “evil” but that the activity he described is the easy thing to do, so he did it. This tone carries throughout the piece. He still admits the wonders of London, such as the “perfection of [the] stupendous institution” that is the walls of British Parliament and that “Covent-garden Market, when it was market morning, was wonderful company.” It is these admissions intertwined with the descriptions of the horrors Dickens has seen during his night walks that supports the reality of his portrayal of London. Overall, both writers have some rather unpleasant things to say about London in the 19^thcentury, but whereas Blake is more hyperbolic in his approach, Dickens is more realistic and still shows that there is something to be admired in the great city. London used to be great, and could be great again, but in the present time of these works she and her people are suffering.

In William Wordsworth’s poem “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” he paints a very romantic and almost fantastical image of London. Through this poem is it very clear to see Wordsworth loves London and finds a great deal of peace in the beauty of the city. He described the city so beautifully, not one word with a negative connotation can be found in this poem. Instead, Wordsworth chooses to use phrases to detail the city such as “Earth has not anything to show more fair,” and “a sight so touching in its majesty”. The imagery in this piece is incredible as he describes ships, towers, domes, rivers, fields, and even the sunlight. Wordsworth wishes to portray exactly the beauty that inspired this poem, as well as the overwhelming sense of calmness this scene provided him. Not only does the diction in this poem provide the reader with a vision of calming beauty, but the rhyme scheme of the poem reinforces this. The use of rhyme gives the poem a calming, song-like quality as it helps tremendously with the flow of the piece. In addition to this, the rhymes are rather common ones—there are no surprises in the imagery or the sounds of the poem. While the rhymes add to the calming power of the poem, they also help in expressing Wordsworth’s subsequent excitement on his topic. He is clearly very passionate about London and his love for it, and the rhymes, lists, and exclamation points could speed up the reading of the poem, thus reflecting Wordsworth’s excitement. Wordsworth also uses personification throughout the piece, which aids in romanticizing the city. London “wear(s)/ the beauty of the morning,” and the “very houses seem asleep”. He also uses third person pronouns when referring to the river and the sun. It is almost as if this poem is a love letter to London. All in all, this poem only increases my excitement for our journey to this lovely city, and I hope to be able to stand upon Westminster Bridge and experience the beauty and joy William Wordsworth did over two hundred years ago.

This illustration by Gustave Doré depicts a group of people, mainly children, huddled together on the side of a street in the night time. The mood of this illustration is overwhelmingly dreary. Overall it is a very dark image—the brightest point being the street lamp in the upper left-hand corner. The faces of the people are not only dark but are rather miserable as well. They are huddled together, sharing blankets, as if the only source of warmth they have is each other. The objects laying in front of the two main adults in the image look as though they could be all the belongings of this family, from vases to a violin. Such a dark, depressing image is clearly meant to evoke similar emotions in its viewer, as one cannot help but feel sorry for the people in the illustration. The image definitely appears to be a commentary on the living conditions that affected particularly women and children in London in the mid to late 19^thcentury. It is heartbreaking to see people living in conditions such as this—in the cold on the side of the street—but it is especially so to see children, or what could possibly be a family, suffering in this manner.

This illustration is reminiscent of William Blake’s poem “London” which details the tragedy that is the society of common men, women, and children in London. Within the first stanza, Blake says he marks “in every face I meet/ marks of weakness, marks of woe.” In this image, every individual has a face marked by woe. Both this illustration and Blake’s poem mark a dreadful time in London’s history and depict the miserable conditions of the every-day people.