‘It is the societies in which the murders take place which are condemned in
these poems, rather than the murders’
In both the poems of Crabbe and Wilde, the poets criticise their societies. Both contexts fail
to bring true justice and both ultimately leave justice up to God. However, in ‘Peter Grimes’
this seems to absolve society of some of its responsibility for the failing of its justice system
whereas in ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’, Wilde uses the biblical allusion to further
emphasise his criticism of society. They also differ in the sense that Crabbe condemns both
society and the murder in his poem, whereas Wilde, who experienced the prison system
himself, is much more sympathetic towards the murders, casting them as the victims in the
crime text, and focused his poem on condemning the society.
Wilde is highly critical of the prison system in ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’. He
unconventionally presents society and those who enforce the justice system as the
criminals, rather than the prisoners themselves through his use of structure. Out of 654
lines, there are only 4 at the beginning of the poem that refer to the criminal’s crime, which
contrasts with the massive focus and slowing down of time that lead up to the execution
which Wilde sees as a crime. He suggests that the justice system thrives on blood and
revenge and it is inhumane and cruel. He described the “iron Gin that waits for sin//has
caught us in its snare” and claims that “the very mud cried out for blood”. Through this use
of personification and internal rhyme, Wilde emphasises the inhumanity of the prison,
which is not there to pursue justice, but rather to seek revenge in a very Old Testament way.
One of Wilde’s main methods in this poem to condemn society is his use of a Biblical
illusion. He shows that the justice system is unchristian because it leaves no room for hope
or redemption and shows the hypocrisy of this in a society in which the laws were
influenced by Christianity and many were claiming to be Christian philanthropists. He
comments that “they do well to hide their Hell//for in it things are done//That son of God
nor son of man//should ever look upon!”. The recurring image of the setting of Reading
Gaol being like ‘hell’ emphasises the cruelty and suffering that occurs in the prison, showing
that the things that take place are so shameful that those enforcing ‘justice’ feel as though
they have to hide it from God because it is so blatantly unchristian as it offers no chance of
redemption or forgiveness for the criminals. The criminal’s prayer is ‘strangled into a
scream’ when he is executed, the use of this violent imagery also helps Wilde to emphasise
how the prisoners are offered no chance for redemption in the Victorian justice system. It
can be interpreted that Wilde has lost faith in men and that God has to save the prisoners
because no one else will or it could be interpret that it is a polemic, which is calling for social
change, by appealing to the reader’s humanity, or Christianity, to remind them of Jesus’
message of unconditional love and forgiveness which, despite his crimes, still ‘took//The
Thief to Paradise’.
these poems, rather than the murders’
In both the poems of Crabbe and Wilde, the poets criticise their societies. Both contexts fail
to bring true justice and both ultimately leave justice up to God. However, in ‘Peter Grimes’
this seems to absolve society of some of its responsibility for the failing of its justice system
whereas in ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’, Wilde uses the biblical allusion to further
emphasise his criticism of society. They also differ in the sense that Crabbe condemns both
society and the murder in his poem, whereas Wilde, who experienced the prison system
himself, is much more sympathetic towards the murders, casting them as the victims in the
crime text, and focused his poem on condemning the society.
Wilde is highly critical of the prison system in ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’. He
unconventionally presents society and those who enforce the justice system as the
criminals, rather than the prisoners themselves through his use of structure. Out of 654
lines, there are only 4 at the beginning of the poem that refer to the criminal’s crime, which
contrasts with the massive focus and slowing down of time that lead up to the execution
which Wilde sees as a crime. He suggests that the justice system thrives on blood and
revenge and it is inhumane and cruel. He described the “iron Gin that waits for sin//has
caught us in its snare” and claims that “the very mud cried out for blood”. Through this use
of personification and internal rhyme, Wilde emphasises the inhumanity of the prison,
which is not there to pursue justice, but rather to seek revenge in a very Old Testament way.
One of Wilde’s main methods in this poem to condemn society is his use of a Biblical
illusion. He shows that the justice system is unchristian because it leaves no room for hope
or redemption and shows the hypocrisy of this in a society in which the laws were
influenced by Christianity and many were claiming to be Christian philanthropists. He
comments that “they do well to hide their Hell//for in it things are done//That son of God
nor son of man//should ever look upon!”. The recurring image of the setting of Reading
Gaol being like ‘hell’ emphasises the cruelty and suffering that occurs in the prison, showing
that the things that take place are so shameful that those enforcing ‘justice’ feel as though
they have to hide it from God because it is so blatantly unchristian as it offers no chance of
redemption or forgiveness for the criminals. The criminal’s prayer is ‘strangled into a
scream’ when he is executed, the use of this violent imagery also helps Wilde to emphasise
how the prisoners are offered no chance for redemption in the Victorian justice system. It
can be interpreted that Wilde has lost faith in men and that God has to save the prisoners
because no one else will or it could be interpret that it is a polemic, which is calling for social
change, by appealing to the reader’s humanity, or Christianity, to remind them of Jesus’
message of unconditional love and forgiveness which, despite his crimes, still ‘took//The
Thief to Paradise’.
