Bridging the Gap 2

Crime writing

Please email your completed work to Mr Fraser by 02nd July, 2021.

Welcome to A level English Literature.Course outline

Component 1:Aspects of TragedyWritten Paper40%3 tasks 75 marks – 25 marks per task2 hours and 30 minutesClosed book

Component 2:Elements of Crime WritingWritten Paper40%3 tasks 75 marks – 25 marks per task3 hoursOpen book

Component 3: (Begins April in Year 12)Theory and IndependenceNEA (Non Examined Assessment)20%2 tasks (1 prose and 1 poetry) each 1250-1500 words50 marks – 25 marks eachModerated by AQA

A Level draws on your GCSE studies.For example, Jekyll and Hyde can be interpreted as a crime text and the poem ‘My Last Duchess’ is a cross over text.We also study a Shakespearian tragedy and Modern Domestic Tragedy at both GCSE and A Level but we go far deeper into the genres in Sixth Form.

Component 2: Elements of Crime Writing

• Section A: one compulsory question on an unseen passage

• Section B: one essay question on a set text

• Section C: one essay question which connects two texts

What does this mean for you?

• You’ll read and explore texts which contain elements of more modern cultural genres – in this case, Crime Writing

• The central focus is on genres which are influenced by culture and look backwards as well as forwards.

• You’ll study three texts: one post-2000 prose text When Will There Be Good News?, one poetry text AQA Crime Poetry Anthology and one text from the core detective canon Brighton Rock.

• You’ll also be examined on an unseen text.

• Key to the paper is that you must understand and study ‘elements’.

What do AQA mean by elements?

An essential or characteristic part of something

Synonyms:

component, constituent,

part, section, portion, piece,

factor, feature, ingredient,

or strand etc.

Elements of crime writing

… also has

characteristic structural patterns,

affects readers in particular ways,

comments on society

and concerns itself with how society is affected.

Week 1: 2-3 hoursAnalysis of crime writing:

Sherlock Holmes.

Learning objectives:To be able to identify elements of crime in a

Sherlock Holmes story.

1

The Holmes stories are set in Victorian Britain.

Task 1:

The most important skills Sherlock Holmes has are his famous powers of inference and deduction.

What can you find out about crime and the police force in Victorian Britain?

Record your findings in a mind-map.

Elements of crime writing

• Students need to consider the elements that exist in each of their texts. The elements that might be explored, depending on the individual text, include:

• the type of the crime text itself, whether it is detective fiction, a post-modern novel, a revenge tragedy, an account of a life lost to crime

• the settings that are created as backdrops for criminal action and for the pursuit of the perpetrators of crime: both places and times will be significant here

• the nature of the crimes and the criminals, the criminals’ motives and actions

• the inclusion of violence, murder, theft, betrayal• the detection of the criminal and the investigation that leads to his or her

capture or punishment• how far there is a moral purpose and restoration of order• guilt and remorse, confession and the desire for forgiveness• the creation of the criminal and their nemesis, the typical detective hero

Elements of crime writing continued

• the sense that there will be a resolution and the criminal will be punished

• the victims of crime and the inclusion of suffering

• the central motifs of love, money, danger and death

• punishment, justice, retribution, injustice, accusation, the legal system, criminal trials and courtroom dramas, imprisonment, death

• the structural patterning of the text as it moves through a series of crises to some sense of order

• the specific focus on plotting

• the way that language is used in the world that is created; there may be use of a criminal register, legal register, police register

• the way that crime writing is used to comment on society, particularly the representation of society at particular historical periods

• ultimately, how crime stories affect audiences and readers, creating suspense, repugnance, excitement and relief.

The Adventure of the Specked Band

• Read the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Specked Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

• Task: Make a detailed list of all the elements of crime that you can identify.

• Read the full digital text:

• https://sherlock-holm.es/stories/pdf/a4/1-sided/spec.pdf

• Watch the film:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLGuBytNm38

Week 2: 2 hoursThe appeal of crime writing

The appeal of crime writing can be attributed to several factors:

• Crime stories have the capacity to thrill and excite.

• Many stories offer the consolation of seeing villainy unmasked and virtue rewarded.

• They give the reader the opportunity to indulge in guilty pleasures which can then be safely put aside.

• All crime writing involves a puzzle of some sort, e.g. a ‘whodunit’. The attempt to solve this puzzle is an intellectual challenge for the reader. The reader has a similar role to the detective: both sift information and make deductions, creating ‘readings’ of the text.

Get creative!

• Considering elements of crime writing, write the opening of a crime story.

• (Approx. 500 words)

• PLAN: Think about your ideas and what you are trying to achieve.

• Consider some of the conventions of crime fiction on the next slide

These are some of the conventions

of crime fiction:

• A motive

• A victim

• Family disputes/rivalries

• A specific social context which has an influence on the crime

• An attempt to conceal the crime

• A process of detection which leads to an accusation of guilt

• The criminal is punished

• A moral dimension. Questions of guilt and justice come into play

Week 3: Crime Poetry 2-3 hours

• ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning

• (You can find this on page 30 of your GCSE poetry anthology or find it here:

• https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43768/my-last-duchess

• Identify elements of crime in this poem.My Last Duchess is a set text in both AQA GCSE English Literature and AQA A Level English Literature but the way you approach it is different.

At A Level you consider the elements of crime within the poem within a collection of Browning’s poems about murder.

What is happening?

• The Duke now wants to marry the Count’s daughter. He is discussing this with the Count’s representative. As he does so, he shows his guest around his palace. During the conversation and tour, he reveals a portrait of his previous wife – his ‘last Duchess’.

The history

• This poem is based on historical events. Duke Alfonso II of Modena and Ferrara (1559–1597) married Lucrezia de Doctors in June 1558. She was the first of his three wives and is believed to be ‘the last Duchess’ of the poem. She died four years after her wedding. The Duke’s second wife also died. The Duke married his last wife, Eleanora Gonzaga, in 1572 – and she outlived him!

Consider elements of crime

• What is implied by ‘last’?

• What is the young Duchess’s only ‘crime’?

• What crime does the Duke commit?

• What drives his actions?

• What part does money play in this poem?

• What does the Duke mean when he says he never ’stoops’? How may this affect his actions?

• What ‘commands’ did the Duke give?

• What do you notice about the psyche of the murderer?

• How do you react to the crime in the poem?

Written response

• What other elements of crime can you identify in ‘My Last Duchess’?

• Write three paragraphs explaining how elements of crime are significant in this poem

• Research another crime poem of your choice and identify elements of crime within the poem

• Please email your completed work to Mr Fraser by 02nd July, 2021.