The facet structure of criminal narratives

In literary criticism Frye (1957) offers four story forms: comedy, romance, tragedy
and irony and that he suggests develop into each other in a circular order, analogous
to the four seasons. It is hypothesised that this circumplex will also be reflected in the
personal narratives that dominate any given criminal’s experience of his crimes. This
was tested by asking 161 convicted offenders to complete a questionnaire describing
their experience of committing a crime. SSA results give some support for a circular
order of criminal roles. The study therefore opens the way for linking literary and
psychological structures.