Robert Ausmus

June 16, 2004

Murder Mystery as a Literary Genre

Definition of Genre:

“Authors, readers, and those in literary circles use the term ‘genre’ to classify the different modes of expression used in individual works of literature.  The importance of this term can most easily be understood when examining the human tendency to classify the majority of items in our society” (SD Midterm Samples 00).

Definition of Murder Mystery:

The murder mystery referred to in this presentation is not just any story involving a murder.  This kind of murder mystery involves multiple suspects, an investigation, and an identification of the murderer.  Examples include Murder She Wrote, Columbo, Matlock, and works by Agatha Christie.

Subject Genre:

Most often referred to as murder mystery, but also known as crime story, psychological thriller, suspense thriller, investigative drama, whodunnit, etc…

Representational Genre:

Most murder mysteries, including my particular example, fall into the Drama or Dialogue category. 

However, quite a few of them also follow the Narrator plus Dialogue pattern.  Narrator plus Dialogue examples include Mike Hammer, The Hitchhiker, and Film Noir.

Narrative Genre:

Most murder mysteries, including my particular example, are Romances by the strict definition of the term.

Although Romance is the primary genre, they most always exhibit traits of other genres.

Tragedy:  Some characters are in a high position, they have a tragic flaw (they kill someone), their crime is discovered, they go to jail or die.

Comedy:  Characters have wit (usually intelligent detective), a bumbling assistant sometimes depicts low comedy, low comedy also prevalent with liquor and smoking, mystery usually climaxes with identification of murderer in group setting, mystery concludes with everyone ironically living happily ever after.

Satire:  Some works have satirical content in them (e.g. Don Knotts and Tim Conway in The Private Eyes, and the all-star cast in Clue.

Film Example of Murder Mystery:

Death On The Nile.  Dir. John Guillermin.  Perf. Peter Ustinov.  EMI Films Ltd, 1978.

Aristotle indicates in his Poetics that, “The plot, then, is the first principle, and, as it were, the soul of tragedy…”  The same holds true for murder mysteries.  Without a great plot, it is very difficult to have a compelling mystery.

Plot: Young lady inherits fortune, she marries, goes on honeymoon, many alienated people try to reconcile with her, she gets killed, Hercule Poirot investigates crime, murderer is identified, survivors live happily ever after.

Related Genres from Course Website:

            Karen Daly, The Spy Movie, Summer 2000

Discussion Questions:

1.  Romance is the most compatible genre for mixing.  I invite supporting or challenging comments to the assertion.

2.  Murder mysteries and other mysteries seem to have a knack for integrating several types of genres into a particular story.  Why or why not?

3.  What do you expect from a mystery?