‘Crime fiction is less concerned with the
punishment of the criminal than with the
commission of the crime, its motivations, and
detectionʼ
‘Crime fiction is less concerned with the punishment of the criminal than with the commission of
the crime, its motivations, and detectionʼ. [25 Marker]
Explore the significance of investigation in two texts.
The Poetry Anthology and Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Browningʼs narrators lack of punishment and their motivation.
Ballad of Reading Gaol focusing on the punishment rather than motivation/detection.
Motivation for Dr Sheppardʼs crime – being his strain of weakness/ punishment being only
surface level explored.
Poirotʼs detective method.
For centuries, critics have discussed whether crime fictionsʼ concern lies with the punishment
of the criminal rather than the crimes actual commission, motivations, and the detective
process. In the poetry collection this can be seen as Browningʼs narrators appear to face no
punishment or consequences instead with their psychological motivations being explored, while
Wildeʼs presentation of the penal system presents one entirely focused on punishment rather
than the crimes committed by the criminals. The Murder of Roger Ackroydʼs place as a work of
detective fiction focuses more on the crime, motivations, and detectives allowing the readers
exploration of the themes alongside the detective figure of Poirot. In this essay I will therefore
discuss which aspect of crime fiction both texts are concerned with more.
In My Last Duchess the final declarative statement of “Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze
for me!” ends the poem in a harsh cacophony of sound to mark the Dukeʼs arrogance and the
likely lack of punishment he will receive because of his crime. It instead forces the reader to
take a more Freudian and analytical approach to the poem viewing the various motivations in
the Dukeʼs “subtle and auditous language” (Clyde De Ryals). As the poem begins and the Duke
attempts to tell the story of the Duchess, the poem begins to present its own metafictional
greatest achievement. As the Duke struggles to deliver exactly what he did not like about the
Duchess; “-how shall I say? – too soon made glad. Too easily impressed”, the fractured and
broken language presents a similar deteriorating mental state within the Duke. This motivation
begins to appear one of madness with no malice forethought but simply a climax of rage
correlating to the climax of the poem where the Duke reveals to the interlocuter his anger
towards the Duchess due to her ranking “My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with
anybodyʼs gift”. He appears a man obsessed with power, “insecure behind a tyrants swagger”
(Miller) which causes him to kill the Duchess for blurry accusations which even he likely did not
punishment of the criminal than with the
commission of the crime, its motivations, and
detectionʼ
‘Crime fiction is less concerned with the punishment of the criminal than with the commission of
the crime, its motivations, and detectionʼ. [25 Marker]
Explore the significance of investigation in two texts.
The Poetry Anthology and Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Browningʼs narrators lack of punishment and their motivation.
Ballad of Reading Gaol focusing on the punishment rather than motivation/detection.
Motivation for Dr Sheppardʼs crime – being his strain of weakness/ punishment being only
surface level explored.
Poirotʼs detective method.
For centuries, critics have discussed whether crime fictionsʼ concern lies with the punishment
of the criminal rather than the crimes actual commission, motivations, and the detective
process. In the poetry collection this can be seen as Browningʼs narrators appear to face no
punishment or consequences instead with their psychological motivations being explored, while
Wildeʼs presentation of the penal system presents one entirely focused on punishment rather
than the crimes committed by the criminals. The Murder of Roger Ackroydʼs place as a work of
detective fiction focuses more on the crime, motivations, and detectives allowing the readers
exploration of the themes alongside the detective figure of Poirot. In this essay I will therefore
discuss which aspect of crime fiction both texts are concerned with more.
In My Last Duchess the final declarative statement of “Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze
for me!” ends the poem in a harsh cacophony of sound to mark the Dukeʼs arrogance and the
likely lack of punishment he will receive because of his crime. It instead forces the reader to
take a more Freudian and analytical approach to the poem viewing the various motivations in
the Dukeʼs “subtle and auditous language” (Clyde De Ryals). As the poem begins and the Duke
attempts to tell the story of the Duchess, the poem begins to present its own metafictional
greatest achievement. As the Duke struggles to deliver exactly what he did not like about the
Duchess; “-how shall I say? – too soon made glad. Too easily impressed”, the fractured and
broken language presents a similar deteriorating mental state within the Duke. This motivation
begins to appear one of madness with no malice forethought but simply a climax of rage
correlating to the climax of the poem where the Duke reveals to the interlocuter his anger
towards the Duchess due to her ranking “My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with
anybodyʼs gift”. He appears a man obsessed with power, “insecure behind a tyrants swagger”
(Miller) which causes him to kill the Duchess for blurry accusations which even he likely did not
