Formula of the Classic
Detective Story
Based on the works of Poe
Carries through the “Golden Age” and
up to “Hard-boiled”
Situation
• Criminal unknown: find identity and motive
• Criminal known: determine means or locate
enough evidence to establish guilt
• Crime: Poe established TWO main types
– Grotesque murder (often with sexual overtones)
– Political intrigue
• Victim: very little character development!
– Keeps humanity out of the mix. This would cloud
the detective’s view and hinder his ability
Pattern of Action
1.
2.
3.
4.
Introduction to the detective
Crime and clues
Investigation
Announcement of the solution (*this is NOT
the apprehension)
5. Explanation of the solution
6. Denouement (apprehension)
Intro to the Detective
• An example of his/her skill
– (ie: “Murders at the Rue Morgue”)
– This helps the reader’s confidence in the detective’s
ability to solve the crime
• Break in the calm of detective’s retreat
– (ie: library, sitting room, etc.)
– Symbolically portrays the crime as an intrusion to the
norm
– Helps emphasize the personal and moral detachment of
the detective from the crime
The Crime
• This MUST have clues that point to someone or
something
– Do not need to be linear
• MUST appear insolvable
Investigation
• While formulating a conclusion, the witnesses,
suspects should further confuse the reader – this
is where the detective emerges
– (ie: the red herrings)
• The investigation usually threatens 1 or more
characters the reader has been made to
sympathize with
– Therefore, the solution will solve the crime AND
rescue the characters the reader wants freed
Announcement of Solution
• This is the FIRST climax of the story
– The reader can finally see through the detective’s
eyes
• This DOES NOT necessarily include the
apprehension of the criminal!
– This allows for TWO possible climaxes
The Explanation
• New angle of vision
– The answer has always been there, but the reader must
look at the clues in a different way
– The detective reveals his true intellect
• Clues are initially set out of order, the explanation
realigns them
• Criminal is usually the least likely person who has
NO character relationship with the audience
– This allows the criminal to represent the personification
of guilt without involving the reader’s feelings
The Apprehension
• Sometimes this occurs following the solution
• Sometimes a trap is set up to answer the mystery
AND capture the criminal
• This is brief so as not to upstage the detective
• The classic detective story is more concerned
with identifying the guilty, not the punishment
Characters and Relationships
• Four main roles:
1. The detective: Extreme intelligence, far beyond a
regular citizen
2. The criminal: Complex motives/interesting actions.
Always defined as BAD to remove question of guilt
3. The victim: Must hold little sympathy, but much
attention
1.
Obscure and ordinary but meet an extraordinary demise.
4. Those threatened by the crime, but cannot solve it. (ie:
the police, the narrator/sidekick, the red herrings)
1.
This represents the middle class disrupted by the crime
The Setting
• Usually split between and isolated place and a
big city
– Symbolic relationship between chaos and order
• By separating crime from society the writer can
remove additional complexities
– The classic detective story requires a clear distinction
between guilty and innocent – the controlled setting
helps to support this