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Northrop Frye on Symbol as Image

Northrop Frye on Symbol as Image

The third phase of Frye's phases of literal symbolism is the formal phase. This will be Frye's briefest section in the second essay, but don't let it fool you. Frye is making a synthesis out of the prior two phases, the literal and descriptive

Northrop Frye on Literal and Descriptive Phases

Northrop Frye on Literal and Descriptive Phases

After our brief introduction to the Second Essay in the Anatomy of Criticism, we will turn to the phases of literary symbolism. This will get very abstract, very quickly, because we are going to try to describe things are that are nearly indescribable. Bear with me, the only way out

Northrop Frye's Second Essay: The Theory of Symbols

Northrop Frye's Second Essay: The Theory of Symbols

In the first essay, which Frye subtitled "Historical Criticism", Frye created his categories by looking at the historical development of heroes and themes. In the second essay, Frye will turn to the different contexts in which we interpret symbols. Since Frye spends a lot of time coming up

WBH Weekly-ish Digest 2024-02-02: The Age of Frye

WBH Weekly-ish Digest 2024-02-02: The Age of Frye

It's been a month since the weekly-ish digest, and in that time I managed to do an in-depth analysis of Northrop Frye's First Essay from the Anatomy of Criticism, as well as complete a couple of reviews of excellent adventures. My Brother’s Keeper by Tim

Northrop Frye's First Essay

Northrop Frye's First Essay

Bringing it all together Let's do a brief recap. First, I described Northrop Frye's model of stories as a phase space. A phase space describes all possible states of a system through time. You can build one up by seeing how one thing changes into another

Northrop Frye on Thematic Modes

Northrop Frye on Thematic Modes

Last time, we explored Northrop Frye's modes of heroic action, which creates a model in two dimensions, the mythic-ironic axis and the tragic-comic axis. In the latter part of the First Essay, Frye turns to another related way of categorizing stories: theme or "dianoia". Aristotle lists

My Brother's Keeper by Tim Powers

My Brother's Keeper by Tim Powers

Tim Powers latest, My Brother's Keeper, is a tale of misplaced charity causing a multigenerational curse. It is also a secret history of the Brontë family, and as usual, Powers' explanation for their troubles is such a good story that it threatens to replace whatever else you