Comparing Sherlock Holmes with a real wizard in literature must be the interesting attempt, because their similar attributes clarify the wizardly aspect of Holmes. I would like to pick up Merlin, a famous wizard in Arthurian legend, who seems to be a suitable character to be compared his wizardly attributes with Holmes’s, because the influence of his images upon the other wizards or magicians after him has been so great that he can be said the representation of the wizard character. In this Chapter?, I would like to define the wizardly element in Holmes, comparing a famous wizard character Merlin with Holmes in regard of their similar attributes of the wisdom and the devil.
Generally Merlin is a child of devil, a prophet and a magician, a counselor of the members of the Arthurian Round Table. Merlin and such his basic images were firstly introduced into literature by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century. Although many poets and authors have been depicting Merlin under the influence of Geoffrey, the image and the characteristics of Merlin have been added or reduced depending on the writers and the ages. To compare with Holmes, I would like to take such features of Merlin which were added in the process of his coming down into consideration as the aspects of his attributes .
The similarity between Holmes and Merlin I would like to discuss first is their wisdom, that is, that they are both wise men. Seeing Merlin as a wise man is general idea, and he has always been so.
Comparative Study in Sherlock Holmes and Merlin
Comparing Sherlock Holmes with a real wizard in literature must be the interesting attempt, because their similar attributes clarify the wizardly aspect of Holmes. I would like to pick up Merlin, a famous wizard in Arthurian legend, who seems to be a suitable character to be compared his wizardly attributes with Holmes's, because the influence of his images upon the other wizards or magicians after him has been so great that he can be said the rep...