"The Guilty Vicarage" (essay)

E519970

"The Guilty Vicarage" is W. H. Auden’s influential essay on the psychology, structure, and moral appeal of detective fiction, collected in his critical volume The Dyer’s Hand.

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"The Guilty Vicarage" (essay) canonical 1

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Predicate Object
instanceOf essay
analyzes conventions of the classic English detective story
function of the detective as priest-like figure
reader’s desire for confession and absolution
symbolic role of the crime in the narrative
author W. H. Auden NERFINISHED
collection The Dyer’s Hand NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
critic W. H. Auden NERFINISHED
discusses closed community setting in detective stories
distinction between detective story and crime novel
distinction between detective story and thriller
formulaic structure of classic detective stories
moral satisfaction provided by the solution of the crime
reader’s identification with the criminal
reader’s identification with the detective
religious and ritual elements in detective fiction
restoration of order in detective fiction
role of guilt in detective fiction
role of innocence in detective fiction
genre essay
literary criticism
hasPerspective Christian-inflected moral viewpoint
psychoanalytic reading of detective fiction
includedIn collected essays of W. H. Auden
influenced academic study of crime fiction
later criticism of detective fiction
language English
mainTopic crime fiction
detective fiction
moral appeal of detective stories
narrative structure
psychology of reading
notableFor influence on later theorists of genre fiction
linking detective fiction to religious ritual
psychological account of why readers enjoy detective stories
subjectOf scholarly commentary on detective fiction
workExampleOf mid-20th-century criticism of popular literature

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The Dyer's Hand hasPart "The Guilty Vicarage" (essay)