Roll
no. : 29
Paper
no. : criticism
Topic
name : Northrop Frye ; The archetypes of literature
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no : 20691084190024
Email
Id : ruchikankrecha06@gmail.com
College
: Department of English
Submitted
to : Department of English M. K Bhavnagar University
Northrop
Frye :
Herman
Northrop Frye was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist. He was
considered one of the most influential of the 20th century.Frye gained
international fame with his first book Fearful Symmetry (1947), which led to
the reinterpretation of the poetry of William Blake but it was the 'Anatomy Of
Criticism' that firmly established him as one of the most brilliant and
influential of modern critic. Like other modern critics from I. A. Richards
onwards he is impatient with the confusions and contradiction of most extent
literary criticism. Frye argues, is the recurrence with various degrees of
'displacement' of certain archetypes in literature of all periods and cultures.
This theory is expounded with characteristics lucidity, economy and with in
'The Archetypes of Literature'. Frye's work has aroused considerable
controversy. So he was one of the best critic.
What
is Archetypal Criticism :
Frye’s
defination ,
“In
literary criticism the term archetype denotes narrative designs patterns of
action, characters types, them and the images that recurring a wide variety of
work of literature. And as well as in myth, dreams and even social rituals.”
Such
recurrent items are often claimed to be the result of elemental in a literary
work evokes a profound response from the attentive reader. An important antecedent
of literary theory of the archetype was the treatment of myth by group of
comparative anthropologists at Cambridge University, especially James G. Frazer
whose ‘The golden bough’ identified elemental patterns of myth and ritual.
Frye
did not follow the other two major names in the field of criticism based on
archetypes and His views were not connected to anthropology and psychoanalysis
as were those of Frazer and Jung. Frye shows no concern to the origin of the
archetypes or All he states is that the archetypes make the concepts of the
universe better understandable for the human beings. The archetypes develop in
accordance to ‘human needs and concerns’ which makes them proper for human
life.
Frye
did not follow the other two major names in the field of criticism based on
archetypes and His views were not connected to anthropology and psychoanalysis
as were those of Frazer and Jung. Frye shows no concern to the origin of the
archetypes or All he states is that the archetypes make the concepts of the
universe better understandable for the human beings. The archetypes develop in
accordance to ‘human needs and concerns’ which makes them proper for human
life.
Relation
of criticism and religion :
The
relation of criticism and religion when they deals with the same documents, it
is more complicated. In criticism, or as in history, the division is always
treated as a human artifact. God for the critic, whether he find him in one of
the best book written by Milton paradise lost or in bible. This is a character
in human story. For the critic all epiphanies mental phenomena closely
associated in their origin with dreams. Art deals not with the real but with
the conceivable and criticism.
Myth
of literature :
We
have identified the central myth of literature in narrative aspects, the quest
myth. This central myth as a pattern of meaning also like we have to start with
working of the subconscious. Where the epiphany originates, in others words in
the dream. The importance of the god and hero in the myth lies on the fact that
much such characters who are conceived on human likeness and have power over
nature. It is this community which the hero regularly enters in his apotheosis.
This gives us our central pattern of archetypal images, the vision of innocence
which sees the world in terms of total human of the unfallen world or heaven in
religion.
Mythos
grid :
In
this literary universe, four radical mythoi.
There
are two basic categories in Frye’s framework
1.comedic
and
2.
tragic
Each
category is further subdivided into two categories,
1.
comedy and
2.
romance for the comedic; tragedy and satire
for the tragic.
Though
he is dismissive of Frazer, Frye uses the seasons in his archetypal literature.
Each season is aligned with a literary genre like
1.
comedy with spring
2.romance
with summer
3.
tragedy with autumn and
4.
satire with winter.
1.
Romance and summer are paired together because summer is the culmination of
life in the seasonal calendar, and the romance genre culminates with some sort
of triumph, usually a marriage.
2. Autumn is the dying stage of the seasonal
calendar, which parallels the tragedy genre because it is known for the “fall”
or demise of the protagonist.
3. Satire is metonymized with winter on the
grounds that satire is a “dark” genre. Satire is a disillusioned and mocking
form of the three other genres. It is noted for its darkness, dissolution, the
return of chaos, and the defeat of the heroic figure.
4.Comedy
is aligned with spring because the genre of comedy is characterized by the
birth of the hero, revival and resurrection. As we know that spring symbolizes
the defeat of winter and darkness.
Genres
and Seasons :
There
are two major categories
1.
comedic, further subdivided into comedy and romance
2.
tragic, further subdivided into tragedy and satire.
He
has also identified a connection between various seasons and the different
literary genres. He associates comedy to the season of spring, tragedy to
autumn, satire with winter and romance to summer and he has also identified
logic for this association. Comedy is basically about the birth and revival of
the hero as spring is symbolic of victory over winter. Tragedy is associated to
the downfall of the protagonist as autumn suggests the demise of the seasonal
calendar and Satire depends on mockery and is concerned to insignificance of
the hero. That is why it has been associated to winter, which symbolizes the
absence of productivity. Similarly, summer refers to conclusion of the seasonal
calendar as romance usually ends with an achievement, most commonly in the form
of marriage.
Archetypal
other Genres :
Frye
also advocates a difference in the way a symbol is interpreted in connection
with different genres. In the schema that he suggests for this purpose, he
identifies five different spheres
1.namely
1.namely
2.human
3.animal
4vegetation
5.mineral
and
6.water.
1.
Humans : humans in comedic work for fulfilment of wishes, in tragic it acts in
a tyrannical way leading to isolation and downfall. The comedic human world is
representative of wish-fulfilment of wishes. In contrast, the tragic human
world is of isolation, tyranny, and the fallen hero.
2. Animals : In the comedic genres are docile
and pastoral. For example sheep. while animals are predatory and hunters in the
tragic. For example wolves. Animals are gentle and pastoral in comedic while
predatory in tragic.
3.
Vegetation : For the realm of vegetation, the comedic is pastoral but also
represented by gardens, parks, roses and lotuses. And tragic, vegetation is of a wild forest, or as
being barren.
4.
Mineral : Cities, temples, or precious stones represent the comedic mineral
realm. The tragic mineral realm is noted for being a desert, ruins, or “of
sinister geometrical images”.
5.
Water : The water realm is represented by rivers in the comedic. With the tragic,
the seas, and especially floods, signify the water sphere.
So,
the same spheres are to be interpreted in different ways and to the different
effects in case of the comedic and the tragic works, respectively.
Situation
or symbols :
Situation
and symbol is very important to find some kind of archetype. Situation like,
1. The quest :
The
characters search for something whether consciously or unconsciously. We see
this in their act, thoughts, belief are centered around the goal of finishing
this search. For example, in hairy ape we can see the quest for his own
identity.
2.
The Task :
Task
play a significant role in our life. This demotes to a probably superhuman act
that must be skilful in order to fulfill the crucial goal.
3.
Water :
Water
is required to life and development; it normally emerges as a birth or rebirth
symbol. It is also strong life power. Symbolizes creation, purification and
salvation also fruitfulness and development.
4. Sun :
It
stands for creative energy like fire, thinking, illumination, knowledge,
spiritual wisdom, faithfulness, dawn etc. Rising sun stands for birth,
creation, explanation. While setting sun stands for death.
Symbols
in colours like,
-
Colours:
In
our life, we believe that colour is very important in some rituals amd in some
things which are important in your life. So in arcytypaes we can find some
colours like,
1.Black :
As
we know that black colour is not good when you do some good work according to
our thinking. This is the symbol of gloom, disorder, mystery, the anonymous,
before existence, death, the lifeless, evil.
2.Red
:
Red
colour is the symbol of blood, sacrifice, cruel enthusiasm, chaos, dawn, birth,
fire, sentiment, wounds, death, feeling.
3.
Green :
Green
colour is symbol of hope, development, greed, Earth, fruitfulness, feeling,
vegetation, water, nature, kindness.
4.White
:
White
colour is the symbol of light, spotlessness, harmony, purity, goodness, Spirit,
morality, creative power, spiritual thinking.
5.
Orange :
Orange
colour is the symbol of fire, pride, ambition, selfishness, Venus.
6.
Yellow :
Yellow
colour is the symbol of enlightenment and wisdom.
Conclusion
:
So,
this is not only elementary but grossly over simplified just as our inductive
approach to the archetype was a mere hunch. There are very interesting points.
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