Most Popular Books by Northrop Frye

Brings together all of the writings of Northrop Frye, both published and unpublished, on the subject of Canadian literature and culture, from his early book reviews of the 1930s and 1940s through his cultural commentaries of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This volume in the Collected Works provides a transcription of the seven books of diaries that Frye kept intermittently from 1942 until 1955.

his new edition in the Collected Works of Northrop Frye series brings The Secular Scripture together with thirty shorter pieces pertaining to literary theory and criticism from the last fifteen years of Frye''s life.

Originally published by Anansi in 1971, this attractive new edition of Frye''s timeless essays on literature and painting features an introduction by Canadian literature scholar Linda Hutcheon.

"... twelve essays in which this visionary literary critic speaks specifically to the eternal act of creation, addressing the incessant need for literary revisioning." --Studies in Religion These essays, four of which are published here for the first time, reveal one of the most extraordinary minds of our time engaging a wide range of literary, cultural, and religious issues. Frye gave these addresses during the last decade of his life, and they reveal this distinguished critic speaking with wit and wisdom about the permanent forms of human civilization and engaging in the eternal act of creation.

Northrop Frye''s Anatomy of Criticism (1957) is widely regarded as a masterpiece of literary theory. The product of years of reading and reflection, the book''s value extends far beyond its impact on criticism as a whole; ultimately, it must be viewed as a synoptic defense of liberal learning by one of the twentieth century''s most distinguished critics. In this, the twenty-third volume of the Collected Works, editor Robert D. Denham presents the notebooks to the Anatomy, blue-prints, as it were, for Frye''s comprehensive account of literary conventions. Composed from the late 1940s to 1956, the notebooks document the struggle Frye underwent to provide a structure for his work. This involved incorporating previously published essays and developing new material that would maintain the continuity of his argument. This fully annotated volume contains seventeen holograph notebooks, each illuminating some aspect of the grand structure that eventually emerged. Altogether, the notebooks offer an intimate picture of Frye''s working process and a renewed appreciation for his magisterial accomplishment.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This philosophic inquiry into fundamental problems of literature and society is an immensely important addition to the canon of one of America''s most original and distinguished critics. What is the function of poetry? Of criticism? In what sense does the poet "know"? What is the relationship between a society and its art? Northrop Frye conducts us on an illuminating survey of these and other broad philosophic issues and offers many incidental insights into specific cultural phenomena as well. Such matters as Marxist aesthetics, Renaissance humanism, the relation of poetry to religion, the idea of progress, and the challenge of our contemporary youth culture are among the dozen interesting topics that engage his attention along the way. Mr. Frye identifies two predominating ideologies in Western culture which he designates as the "myth of concern" and the "myth of freedom." A fully developed myth of concern, he writes, "compromises everything that it most concerns a society to know." Its purpose is to hold society together, hence its deeply conservative character. The "myth of freedom," on the other hand, embodies the "liberal" attitudes of objectivity and respect for the individual. The author traces the relative importance of these two myths from Homeric Greece to the present, relating them to the types of art and government they foster, the roles of the poet and critic, and many other topics. The final thesis of the two myths: "To maintain a free and mature society we have to become aware of the tension between concern and freedom, and the necessity of preserving them both." In relating literature to this dialect, Mr. Frye ranges through the entire history of Western philosophy and literature--from Plato to Heidegger, from Sir Philip Sydney to Bob Dylan--showing us that his inquiring mind has once again gone beyond the field of literature, narrowly conceived, into the wider region of the history of ideas. He regards the artist and critic in generous terms--as persons not insulated from society but involved in it in the most profound sense and so provides a unique study informed by intelligence, broad learning, and grace and precision of style.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Northrop Frye''s status as one of the most influential critics and intellectuals of the twentieth century makes it difficult to gauge the personal qualities of the man behind the work. However, an intimate picture is revealed through the correspondence Frye exchanged with his first wife, Helen Kemp, and which he bequeathed to Victoria College at the time of his death. In A Glorious and Terrible Life with You, Margaret Burgess presents the essential narrative at the heart of the correspondence, focusing on the thoughts, feelings, and formative experiences of the two central protagonists as they chronicle both their own intertwined voyages of growth and discovery and the central events of their time. Bringing to life their interactions with families and friends, their educational milieu, and the significant cultural and historical currents of the 1930s, these letters show both Frye and Kemp engaging with and contributing to the unique cultural climate of the period. Rich and compelling, they exemplify the wonderful eloquence and vitality of spirit that is evident throughout all of the correspondence. A Glorious and Terrible Life with You is a touching and highly revealing account of the relationship between two kindred spirits and remarkable minds. Lavishly illustrated, this new edition includes family photographs and original graphics by both Helen Kemp and her father, S.H.F. Kemp, mostly dating from his own student days at the University of Toronto.

Discusses the future of liberal education in an increasingly technological society.

"This book is an anthology. It covers the forms and varieties of fiction, poetry, and drama, moving from the simple elements to the more subtle and complex, with introductory principles and questions to guide the student''s progress ... "--Preface, page xix.

Revised to meet the changing literary interests and emphases of the twenty-first century, the second edition of The Harper Handbook to Literature adds, augments, and clarifies definitions. Arranged in alphabetical order, this Handbook aims to satisfy curiosity about terms such as syzygy or zeugma, concepts such as structuralism or phenomenology, and literary genres and movements such as Drama or Goliardic verse. Over 100 items are new to this edition, including Queer Theory, Reader-Response Theory, Cultural Studies, Anxiety of Influence, Logocentrism, Orientalism, and Saussurean Linguistics, to name only a few. Entries generally range from a few words to summary essays with bibliographies for further study, and cross-references lead from definitions to larger concepts. A practical "Chronology of Literature and World Events", at the end of the text presents a comprehensive timeline from the earliest cities of Mesopotamia to contemporary names and titles.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Hundreds were turned away from these lectures given on the day of the installation of Dr. Claude Bissell as President of the University of Toronto. Professor Frye spoke on "Humanities in a New World"; Professor Kluckhohn on "The Scientific Study of Values"; and Professor V.B. Wigglesworth on "Science: Pure and Applied".

Perhaps the most influential critical thinker of our time, Northrop Frye has long commented upon the cultural life of his own country. The Bush Garden is now a standard work on Canadian writing and painting, and Divisions on a Ground continues Frye''s extraordinary enquiry into Canada''s literature, universities, social assumptions, and national character. In 13 essays and addresses, Fry covers a broad range of subject matter, from future shock to the meaning of Canada''s history; from student politics to the idea of the university; from regional verse to Marshall McLuhan and the age of television.Provocative, splendidly written and quite entertaining, Divisions on a Ground shows Northrop Frye at his most accessible: a book of prime importance for every North American.

In the early 1960s, Northrop Frye began keeping notebooks with the aim of creating a critical epic that he referred to as the ''Third Book''. Although ultimately abandoned, the ''Third Book'' remains an essential component of Frye''s works.

Presents a series of lectures on the theological and sociological aspects of creation doctrine.

"Papers read at the formal inauguration, on October 27, 1966, of the Society for the Humanities." The knowledge of good and evil, by N. Frye.--Commitment and imagination, by S. Hampshire.--Politics and the morality of scholarship, by C. Cruise O''Brien.

This volume, which collects Northrop Frye''s writings on the theory of literary criticism from the middle period of his career, includes one of Frye''s own favourites, The Critical Path (1971). A highly important marker of Frye''s career, The Critical Path openly addresses topics that he had previously been reluctant to discuss as fully, including the importance of literature to society, the responsibilities of critics, and the deeper rationales for studying literature. Filled with insightful texts that indicate his transition from literary critic to a theorist of language, myth, and human culture, this edition helps to illuminate many of the ideas and arguments that would appear later in The Great Code and Words with Power. Accompanied by the rigorous scholarship for which the series is renowned, this is another valuable contribution to literary criticism and theory.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Frye maintains that Shakespeare''s comedy is widely misunderstood and underestimated, and that the four romances-- Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter''s Tale, and The Tempest--are the inevitable culmination of the poet''s career.

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.