Monday, June 4, 2012

Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays by Northrop Frye

This volume contends that literary criticism lacks both the structure and the vocabulary to adequately deal with its topic, and although Frye claims he doesn't have the ability to create a definitive structure, in a series of four essays on modes, symbols, myths, and genres, he lays out his model for criticism. A few introductory caveats are in order: the critic is neither the parasite of the creator nor the servant of a different discipline (Frye finds critics who work exclusively from a Marxist, feminist, or other perspective too constraining). Frye's argument is wide-ranging, dense, and extremely general--he speaks of types rather than quoting specific examples (except in his work on genre). I agreed with a lot of the arguments, but I would find it difficult to do this type of criticism myself.

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