Northrop Frye

Northrop Frye, CC ( Herman Northrop Frye, * July 14, 1912 in Sherbrooke, Quebec; † January 23, 1991 in Toronto ) was a Canadian literary critic.

Frye grew up in Moncton ( New Brunswick ). He studied theology at the Victoria University, part of the University of Toronto, and was ordained a priest of the United Church of Canada. After ordination, he studied for some time at Oxford, and then return for his entire remaining professional career at the Victoria University.

He first gained international recognition as a student with his analysis of the poetry of William Blake, which had previously been considered delusional, rambling and incomprehensible. Frye showed that it was based on a systematic system of metaphors from the Bible and Paradise Lost. This analysis was published in 1947 under the title Fearful Symmetry.

Ten years later he expanded this approach in Anatomy of Criticism. He argued that certain archetypes and symbols were used throughout the literature. In The Great Code he pointed out that images and scenes from the Bible through the entire Western literature.

His most important works include Bush Garden Essays (1967 ) about the Canadian literature. He coined topics such as the " Garrison Mentality " that characterize the Canadian literature. Margaret Atwood has taken up this thematic approach for her book Survival (1970).

Frye has received many honors. In 2000, a stamp was issued with his picture.

Publications

• Anatomy of Criticism. 1957 Analysis of literary criticism. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1964

• Shakespeare's completion. An introduction to the world of his comedies. Nymphenburg Verlagshandlung, Munich 1966