The Role of Hidden Wordplay in Anglo-American Detective Fiction

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13109
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 02030:English literature and literature in the English language-related
• Research Institution: Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
• Principal Investigator: Kinugawa Shosuke 神戸市外国語大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (10779424)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 英米文学 / 探偵小説 / 犯罪文学 / 言葉遊び / Mark Twain / Agatha Christie / Charles Willeford / Sara Paretsky

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of hidden wordplay in Anglo-American detective fiction. Toward this end, I began by collecting and organizing primary and secondary sources that serve as the basis for my research, mainly detective fiction, crime fiction, criticism concerning these genres and relevant scholarship on the topics of race, gender, wordplay and cryptography. I then selected fictional works from among the collected materials that will serve as the primary subject of analysis for the research project. Furthermore, I published an article elucidating an aspect of the relationship between Twain's detective fiction and wordplay in an international journal dedicated to Twain studies. The fact that the article was published in a leading Twain research journal is evidence that research coming out of this project has been recognized as meaningful. Moreover, I was able to find additional relevant fictional works that broaden the scope of the project.

Free Research Field

アメリカ文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は英米探偵小説における言葉遊びの役割を本格的に解明しようする初の試みであり、探偵小説の新たな読み方を提示する研究である。また、探偵小説というジャンルにおける特定の技法の研究や、分析の対象とする作家のそれぞれの研究にも新たな知見をもたらす。さらに、英米文学全般における言葉遊びの研究への貢献も期待できる。