Showing papers by "Northrop Frye published in 1991"

The Double Vision : Language and Meaning in Religion

Abstract: The publication in 1982 of Northrop Frye's The Great Code: The Bible and Literature was a literary event of major significance. Frye took what he called 'a fresh and firsthand look' at the Bible and analysed it as a literary critic, exploring its relation to Western literature and its impact on the creative imagination. Through an examination of such key aspects of language as myth, metaphor, and rhetoric he conveyed to the reader the results of his own encounter with the Bible and his appreciation of its unified structure of narrative and imagery. Shortly before his death in January 1991, Frye characterized The Double Vision as 'something of a shorter and more accessible version' of The Great Code and its sequel, Words with Power. In simpler context and briefer compass, it elucidates and expands on the ideas and concepts introduced in those books. The 'double vision' of the title is a phrase borrowed from William Blake indicating that mere simple sense perception is not enough for reliable interpretation of the meaning of the world. In Frye's words: 'the conscious subject is not really perceiving until it recognizes itself as part of what it perceives.' In four very readable, engaging chapters, Frye contrasts the natural or physical vision of the world with the inward, spiritual one as each relates to language, space, time, history, and the concept of God. Throughout, he reiterates that the true literal sense of the Bible is metaphorical and that this conception of a metaphorical literal sense is not new, or even modern. He emphasizes the fact that the literary language of the Bible is not intended, like literature itself, simply to suspend judgement, but to convey a vision of spiritual life that contineus to transform and expand our own. Its myths become, as purely literary myths cannot, myths to live by. Its metaphors become, as purely literary metaphors cannot, metaphors to live in. The Double Vision originated in lectures delivered at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto, the texts of which were revised and augmented. It will appeal to scholars, students, and general readers alike who enjoyed Frye's earlier works or who are interested in the Bible, literature, literary theory and criticism, and religion.

Myth and Metaphor: Selected Essays 1974-1988

Abstract: The essays in the first section of "Myth and Metaphor" center on those basic building blocks of literature out of which Frye believes literature is made. The second section examines generally the relationship between literature and mythology on one hand, and social concern and ideology on the other. Because one of the primary ends of education in Frye's view is to make people aware of their mythological conditioning, this section also includes two essays on education. The recurring theme through these writings is the social function of criticism. The essays in section three focus on literature itself - its critique of the purely analytic faculties, its relation to the visual arts, and two of its recurring metaphors (the stage and the journey). The subjects addressed in section four derive from Frye's long-standing preoccupation with the Bible. The book concludes with a group of essays in particular criticism that examine particular works by Thomas More, Castiglione, William Morris, Wagner and Joyce. Together, these essays illustrate the continuity of Frye's vision of culture.

A world in a grain of sand : twenty-two interviews with Northrop Frye

Abstract: A World in a Grain of Sand is a collection of twenty-two interviews with Northrop Frye from the early 1960s through the 1980s. Frye responds to a wide range of questions about the media, education, religion, literary theory, language, music, and literature itself - from Plato and the Bible to Milton, Blake, Shelley, and Melville. Half of the interviews, transcribed from tape recordings, are published here for the first time. Throughout the collection the reader will discover a richly stored mind, often expressing itself in an ironic mode, arguing for the value of both the liberal tradition and the visionary imagination. What emerges finally from the interviews is Frye's own broad vision of the social function of words.