Northrop Frye

A classic piece of literature is one that creates a place in the reader’s memory.” This quote by Northrop Frye illustrates what a classic piece should do in order to be a classic piece. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is certainly a novel that fits the mold of Northrop Frye’s definition of a classical piece of literature. She is able to do this through mainly through imagery and by evoking emotion out of the reader. Harper Lee is able to paint an accurate portrayal of these events and evoke emotion by using description in events such as the walk back from the high school, the characterization of characters such as Atticus, and the creation of memorable moments in the novel such as Scout and Boo Radley walking hand in hand together after…

Neutral Tones Analysis The poem ‘Neutral Tones’ by Thomas Hardy is a dark, solemn poem, reflecting on the termination of a relationship that he had in the late 1860s. It has a very melancholic note and in the duration of the poem, he shows the sadness and emotions in the narrator. The poem was published in 1898, however at the bottom of the poem he marked it as being written in 1867, perhaps he did not want it to be published then, before he met Eliza Nickels. It has a rhyme pattern of ABBA as…

Wondrous but Fearful Tyger William Blake’s “The Tyger” in Songs of Experience, written in 1794, describes the Tyger as “fearful” while appreciating its beauty. During this time, Blake was one of the first people to see a tiger; this inspired him to write “The Tyger” and paint the creature as a majestic but fierce being. Although the origins of the Tyger are questioned, the creator is referred to as “he” implying a male divine creator. While examining who or what created the Tyger, in addition…

In the second lecture “The Singing School”, of his book The Educated Imagination, Northrop Frye, a well-known and respected literary critic claims literature takes a path of repetitive nature. According to Frye, all literature follows conventions as a result of the fact that the imagination can only on operate in terms of the world it knows. He develops this claim by first illustrating that primitive literature, stories based on kings, magic and gods that correspond to the needs of that…

1. Although the article is in interview format, Northrop Frye nonetheless advances a thesis. What is it? (1 Mark) Before the ground discussion I believed that the thesis proposed by Northrop Frye was as follows: teachers should focus on teaching students on being articulate because our current practices limit the effectiveness of language. However, an individual in my group believes that Frye was trying to prove that the humanities are the backbone of the human experience (Group discussion,…

At the beginning of this course, I received the task to describe literature based on the work of Northrop Frye and other literary pieces I had previously read. At that time, I concluded that literature is an entire kingdom of its own that defies the laws of our world and takes us into another, fulfills our hearts’ desires, and teaches us important lessons for life. After studying poems and dramas more in depth during this course, I realized my first impression of literature was correct. I have…

Twelfth Night a play by William Shakespeare displays Northrop Frye’s perspective of comedy. Northrop Frye says that the basic formula is when a young man loves a young woman. They are opposed by an obstacle, most often the woman 's father. Through plot twist they get married. Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy was expressed through gender, love, social ambition, and sex. Comedy is displayed in the play when the characters are drunk and almost about to pass out. They always manage to surprise us…

When critics talk about the archetypal theory, three persons must be taken into consideration. They are James Frazer, Carl Jung and Northrop Frye. In the beginning of 20th century, James George Frazer, the Scottish anthropologist, who first used the concept of archetype in description of myths and rituals. His masterpiece The Golden Bough in Frye’s eyes is not only a great work of anthropology but also a work of literary criticism (Frye, 2009: 109). To some degree, this book can be considered as…

First Reading: “Don’t You Think It’s Time to Start Thinking?” By Northrop Frye Frye (year?) is talking about critical thinking as a means in which to discern the difference between reading and writing for basic knowledge, and the more effective use of articulated methods of reading and writing as way of expressing more complex thought processes: “Most students need to be taught, very carefully and patiently, that there is no such thing as an inarticulate idea waiting to have the right words…

Why Second Guess Yourself? As the years pass there are thousands of new graduates entering the workforce. How many of these graduates are truly ready? The essay, “Don’t You Think It’s Time to start Thinking?” by Northrop Frye is about the connection between the current use of language and thinking. In the essay Frye says, “A student often leaves high school today without any sense of language as a structure” (148). I agree with this and there appears to be a rising generation of inarticulate and…