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Poetry

Northrop Frye on Literal and Descriptive Phases

Northrop Frye on Literal and Descriptive Phases

After our brief introduction to the Second Essay in the Anatomy of Criticism, we will turn to the phases of literary symbolism. This will get very abstract, very quickly, because we are going to try to describe things are that are nearly indescribable. Bear with me, the only way out

Northrop Frye's Second Essay: The Theory of Symbols

Northrop Frye's Second Essay: The Theory of Symbols

In the first essay, which Frye subtitled "Historical Criticism", Frye created his categories by looking at the historical development of heroes and themes. In the second essay, Frye will turn to the different contexts in which we interpret symbols. Since Frye spends a lot of time coming up

Northrop Frye on Heroic Modes of Action

Northrop Frye on Heroic Modes of Action

In this post, I'll isolate one specific part from Northrop Frye's Phase Space so that we can look at it in more detail. Let's turn to Frye's model of the mode of heroic action. Frye surveys literature over time, and he classifies

Oblivion Movie Review

Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: "To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods." 2013’s Oblivion [Amazon link]

Linkfest 2020-12-18: Shannon Edition

“Bit Player:” desecrating the memory of Claude Shannon Scott Locklin has a bit to say about the legacy of Claude Shannon in his characteristically dyspeptic way. I have never ceased to be amazed by the fundamental inventiveness of the 1930s. The transformation of America, and then the world, in the

The Emperor Ponders the limits of description

Emperor Norton at The Emperor Ponders describes for us the four kinds of text you can write: There are four broad categories of text you can write (exposition, narration, description, and dialogue,) and descriptions are what can give more problems to a fiction or genre writer. To sum up, description

The Long View: Fredy Neptune

I haven't read this book, but I admit I'm intrigued by John's description of it. Fredy Neptune: A Novel in Verse by Les Murray Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999 255 Pages, $27.50 (US) ISBN: 0-374-15854-1 In "The Devil's Dictionary,"