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Jonathan Sullivan
Professor Haas
Writing 39B
8 June 2014
The Intellect of Holmes for a Modern Audience
With modernization comes obvious change. From communication, to transport, to leisure,
and to entertainment, as society progresses in terms of technology, it also changes. The classic
Victorian-era series of Sherlock Holmes is not excluded from this category of update. As the
genre progresses into the future, contemporary creations of Holmes, predominantly in the form
of television and film, have been updated to match the audience and the historical context of the
time; as a result, it is as popular as ever. As Jerome Delamater writes in his book, Theory and
Practice of Classic Detective Fiction, the detective genre is such a pervasive phenomenon of
the contemporary worldnot only in books but in many other mediathat it is difficult both to
imagine what our culture would be without it and also to understand why this is so (1).
Accordingly, Steven Moffats television series Sherlock, a contemporary reproduction of the
classic Conan Doyle detective novels, modernizes an essential element of the character of
Holmes his Intellect and rationality in a way that makes sense to the audiences of
contemporary society.
The prodigious Intellect of Holmes is the defining feature of his character in the novels; it
is his quintessential quality from which most of his other characteristics are formed. Arguably,
the success of the genre, and Doyles detective, hinges upon these qualities of intellect, as,
without it, Holmes would lack the ability to perform the deductive magic tricks that define his
character. From the very beginning of The Study in Scarlet, readers are introduced to the
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deductive prowess of a character, who, using logic, deduction, and observation, is able to
determine the origin of Watsons pocket watch. George Dove, in his book, The Reader and
the Detective Story, discusses why Holmess intelligence would appeal to audiences, as what a
reader gets from the detective novel is not that of listening to a story but of watching a magic
trick, which the magician immediately explains (Dove 3). Without this magic trick of his
deductive powers, Holmes would be a duller character, which is whyas Doyle developed the
storieshe transformed the somewhat wooden character of the detective when he made
Holmes (Panek 92) as he invented the pocket geniusshap[ing] the genius to [his] down-to-
earth values (10). Holmess Intellect, the driving force behind his observational ability, logic,
deductive skills and his many eccentricitieseverything that the audience knows him foris
what transforms him from the wooden to the interesting. Furthermore, his character represents
a key feature of the Victorian society in which he was createdthe focus on rationalism.
Sherlock Holmes is just as subject to the times in which he was created as any other character;
his rationality is just one example of this mirror-like reflection of society. In his own words,
Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science and should be treated with the same cold and
unemotional mannerthe only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious
analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unraveling it (Doyle 200).
Holmes, in many ways, can be compared to a machine cold, calculating, deductive, and lacking
emotion; in this, he is the epitome of reason and the absence of emotion (which is foiled, of
course, by Watson and his excess of emotion/romance). Thus, he can be seen as a symbol of
the society in which he was created in an empire driven by the increasing industrial force and
an emphasis on science and rationalism.
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Accordingly, Moffats Sherlock adopts and modernizes Holmess intellect in order to
make it appealing to a modern audience. This modernization becomes evident in a scene from
the third episode of the third season, His Final Vow, in which pristine editingin this case
constructing the film from a vast array of techniques from lighting to camera anglein order to
put the viewer in the thoughts of Holmes. It goes without saying that Doyle could not have
placed readers inside the mind of Holmes in the same way that the show can through series of
imageswhat is more important to notice, however, more than just the showing, but rather, how
it is shown. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Holmes finds himself at the behest of
Mary, whom he mistakenly believes will not shoot him. As he is shot, the music and pace slows,
and we zoom in on the red-stain that is beginning to build upon his shirt as the bullet has pierced
into his upper-body. For the next three seconds of real-time (this portion of the scene takes
about two minutes screen time), we get to enter Holmess mind palacea term that is used by
Conan Doyle to describe Holmess innermost thoughts and we get a glimpse of just how
quickly the magician can think. How the question that frames this scene is: how are they able
to create a sense of being inside of the mind of Holmes? The answer rests in one of the essential
elements of editing continuity. Throughout the shots, a continuous line of thought, at least in
terms of an objective, is achieved. To achieve this objective, the shots edited together reflect
something of a stream-of-consciousness, which, in essence, is chaotic, symbolically representing
how the mind works. A humans mind is continuously connected in a strain of thoughts, yet,
within these strains there is an element of randomnessthis particular form of thinking is
reflected in the idea of a stream of consciousness narration, a literary technique developed in
early 20
th
century literature. This stream of consciousness is evident in the way that the shots
are constructed, allowing the viewer to relatively naturally see the progression of thought by
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Holmes and to observe the delineation of speed at which his mind runs. Furthermore, the chaotic
nature of this form of narration is reflected by the rapid shifting in the sequence of the shots. The
viewer is taken from room, to morgue, to room, to Mycrofts office, to room, to morgueand
onwithin a very limited amount of time; simultaneously, the characters shiftincluding the
character of Holmes between childhood and adulthood several timesreflecting a fast-moving
thought process and stream of consciousness which is quickly processing everything that it needs
to reach its objective. How in this is there continuity, then? The answer is in, predominantly, that
there is order in chaos. Although the characters and scenes shift, seldom do both change at the
same time; that is, there is almost always one element of continuity from the last shot within each
location. The frames, moreover, have been set such that they reflect a near seamless transition
between elements of the scene in that they contain a continuous eye line as well as a constant
proximity within the eye linethat is, the audience sees what Holmes sees as he sees it.
Although the scene may be shifting, these elements of continuity within the shots have been
edited in a way to create order. Thus, order and chaos co-exist achieving a form of stream of
consciousness which allows the viewer to see how quickly Holmes can use the chaos of his fast-
moving mind to his advantage.
Moreover, the shots in the scene have been edited in a way such that there is a continuity
of lighting within the shots which only further reflects the mind of Holmes and reflects the
relation between what is occurring outside and inside of his head. As Holmes slips close and
closer to death, we see a parallel shift in the lighting of the scenes and the music (or the lack
thereof) that is used during the chaotic shifting of scenes from moving in the ambulance to the
hospital, to within his headtalking to the straight-jacket contained Moriarty (perhaps meant to
represent the recessed pits of the mind of Holmes)to hospital, and then back into his head, and
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so on. An element that helps maintain continuity is the continuity of music with regards to the
parallelism between what is occurring in his mind and in realityit maintains, and sets, the
emotional pace for the audience and helps to maintain order in chaos. As Holmes fades from this
world, the music shifts from a dramatic tone as he is shot to that of a climatic and dark overtone.
Similarly, throughout this sequence, a particular pattern can be seen in the lighting; a blue haze
has settled over the scene. From the more obvious blue of the surgeons coat, to the heart-beat
monitor, the sheetsto the more subtle blue tint within his mind-palace, the lighting reflects the
somber, sterile nature that Holmes is currently in. Both elements of continuity, then, allow the
audience to see the clear parallels between the real-world and Holmess mind. This continuity
becomes even more apparent through the juxtaposition of death and life sets in the form of
under-exposure and over-exposure of light. As Holmess heartbeat fades and he falls to the
ground in his mind at Moriartys feetthe scene has become dark, the music has passed and its
climax and has died out, and lighting has become an increasingly dark and hazy brown. The
world, and his chances, as his eyes close looking up at Moriartyreflecting inferiority and
submissionand in this case also a symbol of deathseem dim. It is the continuity of both the
fading music and the change in lighting reflect the life of Holmes being drained, and ultimately
are meant to climatically set the tone for the viewers emotion and response.
Furthermore, this scene, reflecting deathboth in the physical, through the lack of the
heartbeat, and the mental, in the submission to Moriartyis then juxtaposed with his returning
to life. The parallelism between the scenes, as with his death, similarly reflects his return to
health. The most obvious reflection is that as he beats his arm into the ground, a reverberation
goes through his thoughts that, after a jump-cut, is mirrored in the heart-beat monitor and the
music that is used. The music, running simultaneously with the heartbeat monitor and the action
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within the scene, increases in intensity, vehemence, and energy as Holmes climbs the stairs to
life; The viewer cannot help but feel his or her pulse raise a bit too as the heart-pumping energy
contained in the music is an example of how music in this scene dictates the tone for the
emotions felt by the audience, as it did in the death sequence. Perhaps less apparent, however, is
the increasing light in the scene. From the dreary and black-pits of death, the increasing heart-
beat and music are paralleled by an increase in the intensity of light that echoes him getting
closer to recovery. Through all of thisthe juxtaposition of life and death, the parallel
light/scene editingthe audience is lead to witness the power of Holmess mind. It becomes
evident in this sceneby relating the real-world to Holmess mind that Holmes almost
literally willed himself back to life. It almost seems as if, through this brilliant usage of parallel
editing, that Holmes is able to accomplish anythingeven defeating deathwith the power of
his mind. Both of these parts, his life and death, construct a modern image of the mindand are
then used to reinforce to the audience a modernized version of the intelligence of Holmes.
Although the intelligence and rationality of Holmes are evident within the Moffat
version, changes have been made in order to make his character, particularly with his near-
romantic relationships, more universally appealing. More specifically, as evidenced by the
Scandal in Belgravia, Holmes is capable of putting on a guise of romantic entanglement with
Irene Adler. The scene at his apartment and then the flashback at the end of the episode are
essentially the same scenehowever, different camera angles and perspectives allow the viewer
to see contrasting forms of Holmes. The first is the romantic Holmes. Initially, without the aid
of the cameras and the contrasting perspectives offered in the flashback, the audience is meant to
see something that is, perhaps, a mere faade; that is, that Holmes can have romantic
attachments. This manipulation of plot, or red-herring, is not all that that dissimilar from the
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original texts and is another element that could be said to have carried over to the modern
iteration. However, the faade itself is very much contrary to the original conventions of
Holmes, as the cold, calculating, and rational machine of the Victorian era. Although he
maintains these elements, the seemingly new element of Holmesthe romanticis contrary to
his original characters specifications, and has been created to match the audience of modern
societya society that desires such romantic encounters. Whereas romance might not have had
much of a place in the classical stories, as there was only room for his intellect and deduction in
the society in which he was original created, a new medium and a new audience allow for the re-
imagined stories to add a romantic layer, and, subsequently, more intrigue for the current
audience. This layer, however, does not last long. At the end of the episode, the cold-
calculating machine that Doyle created once again reappears in his entirety, as he comments
quite dramatically, sentiment is a chemical defect found in the losing sideI always assumed
that love was a dangerous disadvantage, thank you for the final proof (Sherlock). Throughout
the scene, the shots are predominantly looking down upon Holmes, in close-up form, and
looking up at Irene from a medium distance (medium shot); however, this paradigm shifts when
Holmes says, Because I took your pulse. Immediately, the viewer is shot to a differently edited
scene this time portraying, using a close-up high angle shot, of what really happened. From
this point on when viewing Irene, the camera looks down upon her, while now looking up
upon Holmes, demonstrating the shift in power. Additionally, this shift can also be seen to
represent the characteristic shift in the persona of Holmes. What was once perceived by the
viewer as a hint at possible romance from a distance (the audience does not have a clear view of
what is really happening), is now seen for what it truly isdeduction, and, ultimately, Holmess
superior intelligence, when the close-up is used. Not all is as it seemsalthough the character of
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Holmes has been slightly adapted to fit the modern audience in that it is hoped that his potential
proclivity towards romance would give him a broader appeal, it is ultimately seen that Holmes is
still the rational intellectual that he had been in the classic texts. In the end, it was not only Irene
that is fooled, but the viewer is as well. Just as the close-up shot has the effect of making Irene
look up at him in the power shift, it also causes a similar effect in the audience as the audience is
left, in awe, of the intelligence of Holmes that could not be defeated. Although the red-herring
that is the layer of romance adds another flavor to the character of Holmes, it is just another
product of the intelligence and rationality that define him as a character in both the classic texts
and the modern version. Yet, the adaptation also leaves room for the belief that Holmes is
capable of attachmentthe viewers have to decide for themselves if they believe this to be the
case, adding to Holmess appeal to a modern audience.
In the end, it is Holmess intelligence that makes him an appealing character. Strip away
his intelligence, and you lose his observational skills, his deduction, his reasoning, and the
magic trick that makes him appealing as a character. Coupled with a modern medium, the
adapted character of Holmes is able to appeal to a modern audience on a broad scale. Like
Watson, whoin both the modern Steven Moffat adaptation and the classic textsthe audience
is left stunned and in awe of the deductive and intellectual prowess of the great consulting
detective, Sherlock Holmes. As long as the deductive and intellectual characteristic of Holmes
and be adapted such that it continues to appeal to modern audiences, Holmes will remain as
relevant and popular as ever.
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Works Cited
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013.
Kindle eBook. Online.Delameter, Jerome and Ruth Prigozy, eds. Theory and Practice of Classic
Detective Fiction. New York: Praeger, 1997.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study in Scarlet. 2008. Project Gutenberg. Web

Doyle, A. (1892). Adventure 1: A Scandal in Bohemia. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
(Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved May 19, 2014, fromhttp://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/32/the-
adventures-of-Holmes-holmes/345/adventure-1-a-scandal-in-bohemia/

Dove, George N. The Reader and the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, 1997. Print.

Moffat, Steven. A Scandal in Belgravia. Sherlock. BBC One. London. 1 January 2012

Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print.