"Elementary, my dear Watson"
The phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson" is never uttered by Holmes in the sixty stories written by Conan Doyle. He often observes that his conclusions are "elementary", however, and occasionally calls Watson "my dear Watson". One of the nearest approximations of the phrase appears in "The Adventure of the Crooked Man" when Holmes explains a deduction: "'Excellent!' I cried. 'Elementary,' said he."[68][69]
William Gillette is widely considered to have originated the phrase with the formulation, "Oh, this is elementary, my dear fellow", allegedly in his 1899 play Sherlock Holmes. However, the script was revised numerous times over the course of some three decades of revivals and publications, and the phrase is present in some versions of the script, but not others.
The exact phrase, as well as close variants, can be seen in newspaper and journal articles as early as 1909; there is some indication that it was clichéd even then.[70] The phrase "Elementary, my dear fellow, quite elementary" appears in P. G. Wodehouse's novel, Psmith in the City (1909–1910),[69] and "Elementary, my dear Watson, elementary" in his 1915 novelPsmith, Journalist (neither spoken by Holmes).[71] The exact phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson" is used by protagonist Tom Beresford in Agatha Christie's 1922 novel The Secret Adversary. It also appears at the end of the 1929 film The Return of Sherlock Holmes, the first Holmes sound film.[68] The phrase became familiar with the American public in part due to its use inThe New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes radio series, broadcast from 1939 to 1947.
No comments:
Post a Comment