Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Character and Theme Quotation Analysis

Vocabulary practice cards examining key quotations, language devices, characters, and themes from Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.'

"Satan's signature"

A biblical allusion used to describe Hyde's face, granting the assessment gravitas and associating him directly with pure evil.

"Law of life"

An alliterative phrase Jekyll uses that juxtaposes human-dictated justice in "law" with natural connotations of "life," implying society is fundamentally at odds with God.

"Aged beautiful gentleman with white hair"

Stevenson's description of Sir Danvers Carew; the colour "white hair" provides angelic connotations of purity and age, feminising Carew to emphasise his vulnerability as a victim.

"Queer street"

A colloquialism in Enfield's rule ("the more it looks like Queer street, the less I ask"), demonstrating his intrinsic refusal to pry into another person's difficulties.

"Long tongue"

A metonymy Enfield uses to chastise himself for gossiping; it highlights his informal familiarity with Utterson while simultaneously exposing his hypocrisy.

"The fellow had a key"

A motif illustrating how Hyde transcends boundaries of appearance and reality, using the key to bypass the door that acts as a barrier to one's true nature.

"Shady lawyers"

An oxymoron highlighting the irony that legal figures who should deliver justice are often exploitative criminals, a stereotype Utterson defies as the moral compass of the novella.

"Flame of anger"

A metaphor from the semantic field of violence describing Hyde's volatile temper during the murder of Carew, contrasting with the ordered clauses used to narrate his behaviour.

"Sinister block of building thrust forward its gable"

A description of Hyde's entrance employing plosive alliteration ("block of building"), sibilance ("certain sinister"), and the active connotations of "thrust" to convey jarring violence.

"Unscientific balderdash"

Lanyon's sibilant assessment of Jekyll's work, contrasting Lanyon's material, religiously compatible science with Jekyll's radical metaphysical experiments.

"Turns me cold"

A metaphor reflecting the severity of Utterson's suspicion that Jekyll and Hyde share a scandalous, illicit relationship, underscored by the criminal and animalistic connotations of "creature."

"Man is not truly one but truly two"

Jekyll's core philosophy regarding human duality, reinforced stylistically by harsh consonants and repetition to argue that the psyche is inherently split.

"Pink of proprieties"

A plosive phrase describing Jekyll's respectable social standing, placed in direct contrast with Hyde as a "really damnable man."

"That thing in the mask was never Dr Jekyll"

Poole's declaration to Utterson, illustrating the servant's loyalty, concern, and intimate familiarity with his master's genuine physical behaviours.

"Master's made away with"

Poole's conclusion that propels the narrative forward, invoking traditional master-servant roles to communicate certainty that Hyde has supplanted Jekyll.

"If he be Mr Hyde…I shall be Mr Seek"

Utterson's wordplay demonstrating his innate curiosity that drives the plot and reinforces the novella's central theme of opposites.

"Rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile"

Stevenson's initial characterisation of Utterson, portraying him as an emotionally reserved, rational Victorian professional.

"Damned Juggernaut"

A metaphor used to depict Hyde as an overwhelmingly powerful, unstoppable, and destructive force lacking human morality.

"Strong feeling of deformity"

A pervasive reaction to Hyde invoking Victorian physiognomy, implying criminal nature is visually evident despite characters lacking the words to define his unnatural presence.

"Storm of blows"

A violent metaphor used in Carew's murder implying that Hyde is a concentrated, explosive release of Jekyll's long-repressed desires and behaviours.

"Catholicity of good nature"

A phrase with religious undertones describing Utterson's friendships as founded upon shared, respectable values, which makes his loyalty to Jekyll exceptional.

"My devil had long been caged, he came out roaring"

Jekyll's metaphor demonstrating that suppressing one's innate sinful desires only compounds their destructive energy, setting them in direct opposition to Christian ideology.

"Immaterial tabernacle"

Religious lexis Jekyll uses to describe the human body and soul, illustrating that his scientific transformations encroach upon God's sacred territory.