‘In crime writing there are always victims.ʼ
Explore the significance of the ways that
victims are presented in two crime texts you
have studied. [25 marks]
‘In crime writing there are always victims.ʼ Explore the significance of the ways that victims are
presented in two crime texts you have studied. [25 marks]
Poetry Anthology and Murder of Roger Ackroyd
For centuries, critics have discussed the significance of victims in relation to crime writing. It
has been argued that if there is a crime then there must be victims, and I will therefore argue to
what extent this is the case in ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroydʼ and the set texts in the poetry
anthology.
The critic Le Capra stated that the position of the victims in crime texts are constructed so that
“the position of the victim is not confused”. In ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaolʼ, Wilde subverts this
by negating the position of the victim to the criminal themselves seen through what Seamus
Heaney (1993) called the “predatory portrayal” of the executioner as the “lord of death” who
came with “icy breath”. This can be seen in Canto III where the cruel enduring descriptions of
how the men; “tore the tarry rope to shreds with blunt and bleeding nails; We rubbed the doors
and scrubbed the floors And cleaned the shining rails” reflects the harsh repetitive laborious
punishments forced upon the criminals within the prison walls. The cutting ‘tʼ and ‘bʼ plosive
sounds alongside the excruciating ‘ailʼ repetition which onomatopoetically links so closely to the
work ‘wailʼ suggests that these sounds of suffering are almost chiming off the walls of the
prison presenting the prisoners as the victims of the poem. The only brief reference to the
victim of the criminals themselves – Laura Ellen Woolridge – specifically which occurs in a
singular monosyllabic line; “the poor dead woman whom he loved and murdered in her bed”
romanticises the crime linking to Edgar Allen Poeʼ essay ‘The Philosophy of Compositionʼ where
he states that “the most romantic topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman”.
Therefore, romanticising the death of the woman thematically linking her death to Desdemonaʼs
who was also murdered in her bed by her lover Othello, Wilde subverts the common crime
element of victims being those who the criminals acted against. Instead, an idea is introduced
of the criminals themselves being victims adding a layer of victimisation in the poem. It forces
the reader to ask the question of who the real victims are in the poem when the crimes
committed against the criminals themselves are so harsh and brutal. Through this is becomes
clear that victims are most definitely present in Wildeʼs poem both in the criminal and more
shadowy victims of the criminals themselves.
Explore the significance of the ways that
victims are presented in two crime texts you
have studied. [25 marks]
‘In crime writing there are always victims.ʼ Explore the significance of the ways that victims are
presented in two crime texts you have studied. [25 marks]
Poetry Anthology and Murder of Roger Ackroyd
For centuries, critics have discussed the significance of victims in relation to crime writing. It
has been argued that if there is a crime then there must be victims, and I will therefore argue to
what extent this is the case in ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroydʼ and the set texts in the poetry
anthology.
The critic Le Capra stated that the position of the victims in crime texts are constructed so that
“the position of the victim is not confused”. In ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaolʼ, Wilde subverts this
by negating the position of the victim to the criminal themselves seen through what Seamus
Heaney (1993) called the “predatory portrayal” of the executioner as the “lord of death” who
came with “icy breath”. This can be seen in Canto III where the cruel enduring descriptions of
how the men; “tore the tarry rope to shreds with blunt and bleeding nails; We rubbed the doors
and scrubbed the floors And cleaned the shining rails” reflects the harsh repetitive laborious
punishments forced upon the criminals within the prison walls. The cutting ‘tʼ and ‘bʼ plosive
sounds alongside the excruciating ‘ailʼ repetition which onomatopoetically links so closely to the
work ‘wailʼ suggests that these sounds of suffering are almost chiming off the walls of the
prison presenting the prisoners as the victims of the poem. The only brief reference to the
victim of the criminals themselves – Laura Ellen Woolridge – specifically which occurs in a
singular monosyllabic line; “the poor dead woman whom he loved and murdered in her bed”
romanticises the crime linking to Edgar Allen Poeʼ essay ‘The Philosophy of Compositionʼ where
he states that “the most romantic topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman”.
Therefore, romanticising the death of the woman thematically linking her death to Desdemonaʼs
who was also murdered in her bed by her lover Othello, Wilde subverts the common crime
element of victims being those who the criminals acted against. Instead, an idea is introduced
of the criminals themselves being victims adding a layer of victimisation in the poem. It forces
the reader to ask the question of who the real victims are in the poem when the crimes
committed against the criminals themselves are so harsh and brutal. Through this is becomes
clear that victims are most definitely present in Wildeʼs poem both in the criminal and more
shadowy victims of the criminals themselves.
