Frye, Northrop

Frye, Northrop (nôr`thrəp), 1912–91, Canadian literary critic, b. Quebec. In 1936 he was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Canada. In 1948 he was appointed professor of English at Victoria College, of which he was later principal (1959–66). Fearful Symmetry (1947) is an authoritative study of William Blake's symbolism and religious mysticism. His most influential study, Anatomy of Criticism (1957), a synoptic overview of the principles and techniques of literary criticism, attempts to uncover and categorize the underlying myths and archetypes of world literature. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (1982) is a discourse on the narrative and stylistic devices of the Bible. His other major works include The Well-Tempered Critic (1963), as well as studies of Shakespeare, Milton, T. S. Eliot, and the English romantic poets.

Bibliography

See studies by D. Cook (1986) and I. Balfour (1988); bibliography by R. D. Denham (1987).

---

Frye, (Herman) Northrop

(born July 14, 1912, Sherbrooke, Que., Can.—died Jan. 23, 1991, Toronto, Ont.) Canadian literary critic. He was educated in Canada and Britain and from 1939 taught at Victoria College. In Anatomy of Criticism (1957), his most influential work, he analyzed various modes of literary criticism and stressed the recurring importance of archetypal symbols in literature. His other critical works include the influential Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake (1947), The Well-Tempered Critic (1963), The Secular Scripture (1976), The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (1982), and Northrop Frye on Shakespeare (1986).