Chapter 11. The public identity of Jack the Ripper in late nineteenth-century British newspapers
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Minna Nevala
Abstract
The article studies evaluative language in 200 newspaper articles from the latter half of 1888, focusing on the five canonical Ripper murders. The aim is to study terms used to refer to the Ripper and his murders on the basis of the parameters of intensity, solidarity, and objectivity. This pilot study discusses how in the newspapers the public identity of Jack the Ripper was ultimately developed from a plain perpetrator into a murderous maniac capable of monstrous deeds. The findings indicate that an increase in intensity seems to be linked to a decrease in both solidarity and objectivity. Thus, negative evaluation was increasingly used and person reference to the Ripper changed towards extreme negativity over a relatively short period of time.
Abstract
The article studies evaluative language in 200 newspaper articles from the latter half of 1888, focusing on the five canonical Ripper murders. The aim is to study terms used to refer to the Ripper and his murders on the basis of the parameters of intensity, solidarity, and objectivity. This pilot study discusses how in the newspapers the public identity of Jack the Ripper was ultimately developed from a plain perpetrator into a murderous maniac capable of monstrous deeds. The findings indicate that an increase in intensity seems to be linked to a decrease in both solidarity and objectivity. Thus, negative evaluation was increasingly used and person reference to the Ripper changed towards extreme negativity over a relatively short period of time.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface 1
- Chapter 1. English news discourse from newsbooks to new media 3
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Part I. Changing or maintaining conventions?
- Chapter 2. Of hopes and plans 15
- Chapter 3. Religious lexis and political ideology in English Civil War newsbooks 39
- Chapter 4. Contemporary observations on the attention value and selling power of English print advertisements (1700–1760) 61
- Chapter 5. A modest proposal in The Gentleman’s Magazine 81
- Chapter 6. Lexical bundles in news discourse 1784–1983 97
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Part II. Widening audiences
- Chapter 7. British popular newspaper traditions 119
- Chapter 8. The Poor Man’s Guardian 137
- Chapter 9. Diffusing political knowledge in illustrated magazines 157
- Chapter 10. From adverts to letters to the editor 175
- Chapter 11. The public identity of Jack the Ripper in late nineteenth-century British newspapers 199
-
Part III. New practices
- Chapter 12. Narrative vs. “objective” style 219
- Chapter 13. Astride two worlds 241
- Chapter 14. Newspaper funnies at the dawn of modernity 267
- Index 295
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface 1
- Chapter 1. English news discourse from newsbooks to new media 3
-
Part I. Changing or maintaining conventions?
- Chapter 2. Of hopes and plans 15
- Chapter 3. Religious lexis and political ideology in English Civil War newsbooks 39
- Chapter 4. Contemporary observations on the attention value and selling power of English print advertisements (1700–1760) 61
- Chapter 5. A modest proposal in The Gentleman’s Magazine 81
- Chapter 6. Lexical bundles in news discourse 1784–1983 97
-
Part II. Widening audiences
- Chapter 7. British popular newspaper traditions 119
- Chapter 8. The Poor Man’s Guardian 137
- Chapter 9. Diffusing political knowledge in illustrated magazines 157
- Chapter 10. From adverts to letters to the editor 175
- Chapter 11. The public identity of Jack the Ripper in late nineteenth-century British newspapers 199
-
Part III. New practices
- Chapter 12. Narrative vs. “objective” style 219
- Chapter 13. Astride two worlds 241
- Chapter 14. Newspaper funnies at the dawn of modernity 267
- Index 295
