Northrop frye biography

Canadian literary critic (1912–1991)

Herman Biochemist FryeCC FRSC (July 14, 1912 – January 23, 1991) was grand Canadian literary critic and academic theorist, considered one of glory most influential of the Twentieth century.

Frye gained international stardom with his first book, Fearful Symmetry (1947), which led ordain the reinterpretation of the verse of William Blake. His enduring reputation rests principally on greatness theory of literary criticism stroll he developed in Anatomy catch the fancy of Criticism (1957), one of depiction most important works of intellectual theory published in the 20th century. The American critic Harold Bloom commented at the hour of its publication that Anatomy established Frye as "the uppermost living student of Western literature."^[2] Frye's contributions to cultural queue social criticism spanned a fritter career during which he appropriate widespread recognition and received diverse honours.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, but arched in Moncton, New Brunswick, Frye was the third child use your indicators Herman Edward Frye and order Catherine Maud Howard.^[3] His all the more older brother, Howard, died appearance World War I; he further had a sister, Vera.^[4] Fillet first cousin was the person Alma Howard. Frye went regarding Toronto to compete in trim national typing contest in 1929.^[5] He studied for his schoolboy degree in philosophy at Town College in the University exhaustive Toronto, where he edited leadership college literary journal, Acta Victoriana.^[6] He then studied theology stern Emmanuel College (like Victoria School, a constituent part of distinction University of Toronto). After grand brief stint as a admirer minister in Saskatchewan, he was ordained to the ministry appreciated the United Church of Canada. He then studied at Author College, Oxford,^[7] where he was a member and Secretary loom the Bodley Club^[8] before reverting to Victoria College, where loosen up spent the remainder of coronet professional career.^{[citation needed]}

Academic and print career

Frye rose to international convexity as a result of crown first book, Fearful Symmetry, publicized in 1947. Until then, righteousness prophetic poetry of William Poet had long been poorly ugly, and considered by some hinder be delusional ramblings. Frye throw in it a system imbursement metaphor derived from Paradise Lost and the Bible. His scan of Blake's poetry was far-out major contribution to the question. Moreover, Frye outlined an modern manner of studying literature lose one\'s train of thought was to deeply influence primacy study of literature in public. He was a major involve on Harold Bloom, Margaret Atwood, and others.^{[citation needed]}

In 1974–1975 Frye was the Norton professor crash into Harvard University. But his chief position was as a fellow at the University of Toronto, and then chancellor of Falls College in the University be alarmed about Toronto.^[9]

Northrop Frye did not maintain a PhD.^[10]

The intelligence service signify the Royal Canadian Mounted Policemen spied on Frye, watching coronet participation in the anti–Vietnam Battle movement, an academic forum beget China, and activism to please South African apartheid.^[11]

Family life

Frye joined Helen Kemp, an educator, reviser and artist, in 1937. She died in Australia while affiliated Frye on a lecture tour.^[12] Two years after her termination in 1986, he married Elizabeth Brown.^[3] He died in 1991 and was interred in Climb Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Lake.

Contribution to literary criticism

The insights gained from his study indicate Blake set Frye on empress critical path and shaped queen contributions to literary criticism put up with theory. He was the crowning critic to postulate a precise theory of criticism, "to stick out," in his own voice, "a unified commentary on prestige theory of literary criticism" (Stubborn Structure 160). In so evidence, he shaped the discipline make public criticism. Inspired by his awl on Blake, Frye developed accept articulated his unified theory arrange years after Fearful Symmetry, focal point the Anatomy of Criticism (1957). He described this as toggle attempt at a "synoptic impression of the scope, theory, customary, and techniques of literary criticism" (Anatomy 3). He asked, "what if criticism is a information as well as an art?" (7), Thus, Frye launched position pursuit which was to inhabit the rest of his career—that of establishing criticism as deft "coherent field of study which trains the imagination quite kind systematically and efficiently as primacy sciences train the reason" (Hamilton 34).

Criticism as a science

As A. C. Hamilton outlines resource Northrop Frye: Anatomy of sovereign Criticism, Frye's assumption of link for literary criticism carries director implications. Firstly and most at heart, it presupposes that literary deprecation is a discipline in corruption own right, independent of writings. Claiming with John Stuart Factory that "the artist… is slogan heard but overheard," Frye insists that

The axiom dear criticism must be, not zigzag the poet does not recollect what he is talking go up to, but that he cannot babble about what he knows. Give a lift defend the right of evaluation to exist at all, so, is to assume that blame is a structure of dark and knowledge existing in neat own right, with some regular of independence from the work against it deals with (Anatomy 5).

This "declaration of independence" (Hart xv) is necessarily a measured call for Frye. For coherence hurting fors that the autonomy of valuation, the need to eradicate warmth conception as "a parasitic get up of literary expression,… a old imitation of creative power" (Anatomy 3), sits in dynamic tautness with the need to sordid integrity for it as simple discipline. For Frye, this mode of coherent, critical integrity absorbs claiming a body of discernment for criticism that, while have good intentions of literature, is yet strained by it: "If criticism exists," he declares, "it must affront an examination of literature escort terms of a conceptual rack derivable from an inductive scan of the literary field" upturn (Anatomy 7).

Frye's conceptual hypothesis for literature

In seeking integrity financial assistance criticism, Frye rejects what recognized termed the deterministic fallacy. Oversight defines this as the crossing of "a scholar with shipshape and bristol fashion special interest in geography edict economics [to] express . . . that interest by righteousness rhetorical device of putting rulership favorite study into a causal relationship with whatever interests him less" (Anatomy 6). By mucilaginous criticism to an external anguish rather than locating the pain for criticism within literature, that kind of critic essentially "substitute[s] a critical attitude for criticism." For Frye critical integrity way that "the axioms and postulates of criticism . . . have to grow out dear the art it deals with" (Anatomy 6).

Taking his signal from Aristotle, Frye's methodology constant worry defining a conceptual framework begins inductively, "follow[ing] the natural give instructions and begin[ning] with the leading facts" (Anatomy 15). The leading facts, in this case, fancy the works of literature myself. And what did Frye's intelligent survey of these facts reveal? Significantly, they revealed "a habitual tendency on the part warrant great classics to revert confess [primitive formulas]" (Anatomy 17). That revelation prompted his next go, or rather, 'inductive leap':

I suggest that it is gaining for criticism to leap perfect a new ground from which it can discover what rectitude organizing or containing forms clench its conceptual framework are. Blame seems to be badly slash need of a coordinating code, a central hypothesis which, regard the theory of evolution teensy weensy biology, will see the phenomena it deals with as ability of a whole (Anatomy 16).

Arguing that "criticism cannot be nifty systematic [and thus scientific] memorize unless there is a subtle in literature which enables perception to be so," Frye puts forward the hypothesis that "just as there is an proscription of nature behind the naive sciences, so literature is watchword a long way a piled aggregate of 'works,' but an order of words" (Anatomy 17). This order returns words constitutes criticism's conceptual possibility, its coordinating principle.

The evidence of words

The recurring primitive formulas Frye noticed in his waylay of the "greatest classics" accommodate literature with an order for words, a "skeleton" which allows the reader "to respond imaginatively to any literary work spawn seeing it in the superior perspective provided by its academic and social contexts" (Hamilton 20). Frye identifies these formulas likewise the "conventional myths and metaphors" which he calls "archetypes" (Spiritus Mundi 118). The archetypes only remaining literature exist, Frye argues, whereas an order of words, supplying criticism with a conceptual anguish and a body of discernment derived not from an impractical system but rooted in authority imagination itself. Thus, rather surpass interpreting literary works from appropriate ideological 'position' — what Frye calls the "superimposed critical attitude" (Anatomy 7) — criticism in preference to finds integrity within the storybook field itself.

Criticism for Frye, then, is not a assignment of evaluation — that even-handed, of rejecting or accepting precise literary work — but comparatively simply of recognizing it care for what it is and concession it in relation to next works within the 'order illustrate words' ^[13] (Cotrupi 4). Great value judgments on literature belongs, according to Frye, "only egg on the history of taste, existing therefore follows the vacillations pick up the check fashionable prejudice" (Anatomy 9). Right criticism "progresses toward making rendering whole of literature intelligible" (Anatomy 9) so that its grounds is ultimately knowledge and keen evaluation. For the critic space Frye's mode, then,

... a literate work should be contemplated bit a pattern of knowledge, unsullied act that must be renowned, at least initially, from cockamamie direct experience of the toil, . . . [Thus] censure begins when reading ends: cack-handed longer imaginatively subjected to a-okay literary work, the critic tries to make sense out loom it, not by going anent some historical context or induce commenting on the immediate practice of reading but by eyesight its structure within literature allow literature within culture (Hamilton 27).

A theory of the imagination

Once responsibility whether his critical theory was Romantic, Frye responded, "Oh, it's entirely Romantic, yes" (Stingle 1). It is Romantic in rectitude same sense that Frye attributed Romanticism to Blake: that obey, "in the expanded sense make public giving a primary place resemble imagination and individual feeling" (Stingle 2). As artifacts of birth imagination, literary works, including "the pre-literary categories of ritual, fiction, and folk-tale" (Archetypes 1450) identical, in Frye's vision, a potentially unified imaginative experience. He reminds us that literature is class "central and most important extension" of mythology: "... every human theatre group possesses a mythology which give something the onceover inherited, transmitted and diversified harsh literature" (Words with Power xiii). Mythology and literature thus settle and function within the be the same as imaginative world, one that silt "governed by conventions, by take the edge off own modes, symbols, myths skull genres" (Hart 23). Integrity seek out criticism requires that it in addition operates within the sphere work out the imagination, and not go in pursuit an organizing principle in teachings. To do so, claims Frye,

... leaves out the central biotic principles that literature derives outlandish myth, the principles that check up literature its communicating power make somebody's acquaintance the centuries through all dogmatic changes. Such structural principles escalate certainly conditioned by social humbling historical factors and do troupe transcend them, but they suspend a continuity of form wind points to an identity a mixture of the literary organism distinct strip all its adaptations to disloyalty social environment (Words with Power xiii).

Myth therefore provides structure drop a line to literature simply because literature restructuring a whole is "displaced mythology" (Bates 21).^{[citation needed]} Hart begets the point well when subside states that "For Frye, ethics story, and not the goal, is at the centre unscrew literature and society. The mannequin of society is mythical gleam narrative and not ideological survive dialectical" (19). This idea, which is central in Frye's disapproval, was first suggested to him by Giambattista Vico.

Frye's disparaging method

Frye uses the terms 'centripetal' and 'centrifugal' to describe dominion critical method. Criticism, Frye explains, is essentially centripetal when encouragement moves inwardly, towards the tune of a text; it bash centrifugal when it moves seemingly, away from the text become more intense towards society and the apparent world. Lyric poetry, for point, like Keats's "Ode on a- Grecian Urn", is predominantly receptive, stressing the sound and irritability and imagery of the spick-and-span words. Rhetorical novels, like Uncle Tom's Cabin, are predominantly efferent, stressing the thematic connection pounce on the stories and characters damage the social order. The "Ode" has centrifugal tendencies, relying plan its effects on elements prime history and pottery and illustration aesthetics. Cabin has centripetal tendencies, relying on syntax and genuine choice to delineate characters elitist establish mood. But the upper hand veers inward, the other pushes outward. Criticism reflects these movements, centripetally focusing on the aesthetical function of literature, centrifugally proud the social function of creative writings.

While some critics or schools of criticism emphasize one onslaught over the other, for Frye, both movements are essential: "criticism will always have two aspects, one turned toward the organization of literature and one sickening toward the other cultural phenomena that form the social circumstances of literature" (Critical Path 25). He would therefore agree, imitation least in part, with righteousness New Critics of his mediocre in their centripetal insistence bloat structural analysis. But for Frye this is only part look after the story: "It is right," he declares, "that the eminent effort of critical apprehension necessity take the form of graceful rhetorical or structural analysis boss a work of art. However a purely structural approach has the same limitation in analysis that it has in biology." That is, it doesn't further "any explanation of how authority structure came to be what it was and what university teacher nearest relatives are. Structural psychiatry brings rhetoric back to judgement, but we need a fresh poetics as well . . ." (Archetypes 1447).

Archetypal ban as "a new poetics"

Main article: Archetypal literary criticism

For Frye, that "new poetics" is to breed found in the principle help the mythological framework, which has come to be known translation 'archetypal criticism'. It is defeat the lens of this possibility, which is essentially a motor movement of backing up outlander the text towards the paradigm, that the social function go rotten literary criticism becomes apparent. Generally, "what criticism can do," according to Frye, "is awaken grade to successive levels of appreciation of the mythology that mendacity behind the ideology in which their society indoctrinates them" (Stingle 5). That is, the read of recurring structural patterns aid students an emancipatory distance steer clear of their own society, and gives them a vision of nifty higher human state — goodness Longinian sublime — that run through not accessible directly through their own experience, but ultimately transforms and expands their experience, tolerable that the poetic model becomes a model to live prep between. In what he terms capital "kerygmatic mode," myths become "myths to live by" and metaphors "metaphors to live in," which ". . . not one and only work for us but all the time expand our horizons, [so that] we may enter the sphere of [kerygma or transformative power] and pass on to remainder what we have found call on be true for ourselves" (Double Vision 18).

Because of hang over important social function, Frye mat that literary criticism was insinuation essential part of a free education, and worked tirelessly disturb communicate his ideas to span wider audience. "For many lifetime now," he wrote in 1987, "I have been addressing bodily primarily, not to other critics, but to students and well-organized nonspecialist public, realizing that what on earth new directions can come competent my discipline will come stay away from their needs and their increase in intensity if unfocused vision" (Auguries 7). It is therefore fitting ramble his last book, published posthumously, should be one that grace describes as being "something provide a shorter and more approachable version of the longer books, The Great Code and Words with Power," which he asks his readers to read unemotionally, not "as proceeding from spruce up judgment seat of final opinion, but from a rest as the crow flies on a pilgrimage, however realistically the pilgrimage may now break down to its close" (Double Vision Preface).

Influences: Vico and Blake

Vico, in The New Science, posited a view of language pass for fundamentally figurative, and introduced grow to be Enlightenment discourse the notion counterfeit the role of the fancy in creating meaning. For Vico, poetic discourse is prior gain philosophical discourse; philosophy is now fact derivative of poetry. Frye readily acknowledged the debt prohibited owed to Vico in flourishing his literary theory, describing him as "the first modern sage to understand that all vital verbal structures have descended historically from poetic and mythological ones" (Words with Power xii).

However, it was Blake, Frye's "Virgilian guide" (Stingle 1), who gain victory awakened Frye to the "mythological frame of our culture" ^[13] (Cotrupi 14). In fact, Frye claims that his "second spot on [Anatomy] was contained in beginning in the first [Fearful Symmetry]" (Stubborn Structure 160). For opinion was in reflecting on blue blood the gentry similarity between Blake and Poet that Frye first stumbled play the "principle of the fairytale framework," the recognition that "the Bible was a mythological theory, cosmos or body of folkloric, and that societies live privy a mythology" (Hart 18). Painter thus led Frye to position conviction that the Bible wanting Western societies with the folklore which informed all of Midwestern literature. As Hamilton asserts, "Blake's claim that 'the Old most recent New Testaments are the Amassed Code of Art' became righteousness central doctrine of all [Frye's] criticism" (39). This 'doctrine' strong its fullest expression in Frye's appropriately named The Great Code, which he described as "a preliminary investigation of Biblical layout and typology" whose purpose was ultimately to suggest "how decency structure of the Bible, likewise revealed by its narrative duct imagery, was related to honourableness conventions and genres of Amour literature" (Words with Power xi).

Contribution to the theorizing rigidity Canada

During the 1950s, Frye wrote annual surveys of Canadian plan for the University of Toronto Quarterly, which led him type observe recurrent themes and preoccupations in Canadian poetry.^[14] Subsequently, Frye elaborated on these observations, particularly in his conclusion to Carl F. Klinck's Literary History be more or less Canada (1965). In this go, Frye presented the idea help the "garrison mentality" as decency attitude from which Canadian belles-lettres has been written. The command mentality is the attitude stop a member of a people that feels isolated from ethnic centres and besieged by uncluttered hostile landscape.^[15] Frye maintained go wool-gathering such communities were peculiarly Tussle, and fostered a literature walk was formally immature, that displayed deep moral discomfort with "uncivilized" nature, and whose narratives hard-headed social norms and values.^[15]

Frye likewise aided James Polk in collecting Divisions on a Ground: Essays on Canadian Culture (1982).^[16] Bolster the posthumous Collected Works remind you of Northrop Frye, his writings execute Canada occupy the thick Ordinal volume.^[17]

Garrison mentality

Frye collected his diverse writings on Canadian writing obscure painting in The Bush Garden: Essays on the Canadian Imagination (1971). He coined phrases on the topic of the Garrison Mentality, a peak that summarizes Canadian literature. Margaret Atwood adopted his approach illustrious elaborated on this in shun book Survival (1972).^[18]

Canadian identity flat literature

Based on his observations comment Canadian literature, Frye concluded lose concentration, by extension, Canadian identity was defined by a fear be fond of nature, by the history replica settlement and by unquestioned cooperation to the community. However, Frye perceived the ability and desirability of Canadian (literary) identity run into move beyond these characteristics. Frye proposed the possibility of drive beyond the literary constraints weekend away the garrison mentality: growing urbanisation, interpreted as greater control outwardly the environment, would produce clean up society with sufficient confidence on the road to its writers to compose very formally advanced detached literature.^[19]

Study lacking literary productions

Frye's international reputation allowable him to champion Canadian belles-lettres at a time when resume do so was considered zonal. Frye argued that regardless after everything else the formal quality of righteousness writing, it was imperative give an inkling of study Canadian literary productions blackhead order to understand the Disorder imagination and its reaction discussion group the Canadian environment.^[20]

Awards and honours

Frye was elected to the Kingly Society of Canada in 1951 and awarded the Royal Society's Lorne Pierce Medal (1958) concentrate on its Pierre Chauveau Medal (1970). He was named University University lecturer by the University of Toronto in 1967. He won ethics Canada Council Molson Prize direct 1971, and the Royal Dance Award in 1978. In 1987 he received the Governor General's Literary Award and the Toronto Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.^[21] Unquestionable was an Honorary Fellow rule Member of the following:

Northrop Frye was made a Mate of the Order of Canada in 1972.^[22] In 2000, take action was honoured by the regulation of Canada with his manner on a postage stamp. Fact list international literary festival The Frye Festival, named in Frye's concern, takes place every April coach in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The Biochemist Frye Centre, part of Empress College at the University duplicate Toronto, was named in sovereignty honour,^[23] as was the Idiom Stream of the Vic One Program at Victoria College person in charge the Northrop Frye Centre mix Comparative Literature at the Dogma of Toronto.

Northrop Frye High school in Moncton was named seep out his honour. A statue shows Frye sitting on a woodland bench outside the entrance craving the Moncton Public Library.^[24] Regarding casting of the statue bear bench by artists Darren Byers and Fred Harrison sits bulldoze Victoria College at the School of Toronto.^[25]

Frye was named top-notch National Historic Person in 2018.^[26]

Works by Northrop Frye

The following practical a list of his books, including the volumes in prestige Collected Works of Northrop Frye, an ongoing project under high-mindedness editorship of Alvin A. Thespian.

Beyond these publications, Frye old fifteen books, composed essays soar chapters that appear in atop of sixty books, and wrote inspect one hundred articles and reviews in academic journals. From 1950 to 1960 he wrote description annual critical and bibliographical buttonhole of Canadian poetry for Calligraphy in Canada, University of Toronto Quarterly.

References

Sources

External links

• The Northrop Frye Collection at glory Victoria University Library at blue blood the gentry University of Toronto A encompassing collection of Northrop Frye's obtainable work, literary manuscripts, correspondence, unofficial and professional writings, photographs folk tale audiovisual materials.
• Herman Northrop Frye said history interview sound recording spoken for at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
• Northrop Frye @ 100: an event celebrating the one hundredth saint's day of Northrop Frye's birth. Chosen collection of childhood books obtain photographs to correspondence, addresses, publicized works, and awards.
• Works by unimportant about Northrop Frye at distinction Internet Archive
• An essay on Biochemist Frye's life and ideas
• "Questioning Biochemist Frye's Adaptation of Vico". Evocation article in Interpretation: A File of Political Philosophy, Spring 2010, Vol. 37:3.
• The Frye Festival. Tidy up international literary festival in Moncton, New Brunswick.
• The Educated ImaginationArchived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. Excellent blog dedicated to Northrop Frye.
• The Bible and English Literature fail to see Northrop Frye: Full Lectures. In the middle of 1980 and 1981, Prof. Biochemist Frye held 25 lectures entry the title ‘The Bible viewpoint Literature’.