AQA A-level English Literature - Elements of Crime: Elements of Crime Writing Notes

Characteristics of Crime Notes:

Villain
Physical Representation:
 Physiognomy
 Caricature form
 Led to expect that … will play a reprehensible role in the text
 Physiognomy reflects their villainous traits

Psychology:
 Focus predominantly on psychological representation of criminals and their motives
 Criminal acts in literature are often associated with madness
 Ethereal quality = supernatural

Excessive Pride:
 Hubristic quality
 Leans towards a stream of consciousness
 Power to lead an individual to vice

The Hero
Typical to face a nemesis, who they bring to justice

Traits and Characteristics:
 Rapid perception
 Natural curiosity
 Sharp instincts
 Cunning
 Bravery
 Confidence

Professional Detectives:
 1st was Edgar Allen Poe – C. Auguste Dupin
 Comic wit, brutal physical force than any bookish form of intelligence and bring
criminal to justice in a violent finale.

Unofficial Detectives:

The Victim:
Inevitably has to be one victim when a crime takes place. The repercussions of a crime can
actually be more significant than the act of the crime itself.

Peripheral Victims:
 E.g. ‘Roger Ackroyd’ in ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ – a key feature of Golden Age
Crime Fiction. Resolves around the process of detection rather than the nature of
the crime and criminality itself.

Manipulation: