Saturday, 12 March 2022

Theory of Archetypes

 Northrop Frye : The Archetypes of Literature 


This blog is response to the blog task based on Archetypal Criticism allotted by Dr. Dilip Barad sir.  This blog is part of our thinking activity. I am discussing some questions about Archetypes criticism in my blog.  Dilip Barad sir blog



Northrop Frye:

Northrop Frye, in full Herman Northrop Frye, (born July 14, 1912 -died Jan. 23, 1991), Canadian educator and literary critic who wrote much on Canadian literature and culture and became best known as one of the most important literary theorists of the 20th century.
Archetypal criticism peaked in popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, largely due to the work of Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye (1912-1991). Archetypal literary criticism is a type of analytical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths, and archetypes in the narrative, symbols, image and character types in literary works.

What is Archetypes criticism?

 Archetype, in literary criticism, a primordial image, character, or pattern of circumstances that recurs throughout literature and thought consistently enough to be considered a universal concept or situation.

The term was adopted and popularized by literary critics from the writings of the psychologist Carl Jung, who formulated a theory of a “collective unconscious.” For Jung, the varieties of human experience have somehow been genetically coded and transferred to successive generations. These primordial image patterns and situations evoke startlingly similar feelings in both reader and author. The Canadian literary critic and theorist Northrop Frye was influential in extending the use of the term archetype to specifically literary contexts. Archetypal criticism has been connected with another group of thinkers more closely allied to its Jungian roots, including Maud Bodkin and James Hillman. 

Northrop Frye proposed the idea that the main appeal of literature was its connection to primitive story formulas. He claimed literature is a kind of displaced mythology that constantly reverts to the same patterns that we see in Ancient myths.

What does the archetypal critic do?

In literature, characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of when or where they live, are considered archetypes. Situations that occur over and over in different versions of the story.
An archetypal critic tries to analyze a pattern in symbols, myth, ritual or stories in literary works to identify the specific pattern.

What is Frye trying to prove by giving an analogy of ' Physics to Nature' and 'Criticism to Literature'?

Northrop Frye compares both the things ,"Physics to nature" and "Criticism to literature". Physics is an organized body of knowledge about nature, Physics is a systematic​ study of nature. In the study of physics it's not only about nature,but similarly criticism is the study of literature. we can't study literature because it is a by product and we can only criticize or study it to learn it.

Share your views of Criticism as an organised body of knowledge. Mention relation of literature with history and philosophy?

 As per my view, Archetypal Criticism is based on philosophy and history of people.Literature includes history as well as philosophy to convey it's meaning so it's  displays events and ideas.. we Know that literature is center in division of humanities and in framework to history and philosophy. So, literature used knowledge of past by use of ideas and create literature.

 Briefly explain inductive method with illustration of Shakespeare's Hamlet's Grave Digger's scene?

 Inductive Method is based on observation like Seeing is Believing. "Hamlet's" grave digging scene is the best example of Inductive Method. It's demonstrate the philosophy of life,the philosophy of life and death revealed by grave diggers.That all humans are mortal so everyone should die at once.

 Briefly explain deductive method with reference to an analogy to Music, Painting, rhythm and pattern. Give examples of the outcome of deductive method?

Frye has used inductive and deductive methodology in Archetypal criticism. Deductive method means,"General to Particular." when we talk about the arts like music or painting.Music has rythm and painting have pattern.We may not understands music at once but we may understand painting at once. Literature seems to be remediate between music and painting. 

Refer to the Indian seasonal grid (below). If you can, please read small Gujarati or Hindi or English poem from the archetypal approach and apply Indian seasonal grid in the interpretation.

Summer comes
in a blaze of heat
with sunny smiles
and dusty feet

Then seasons change
to muddy roads
monsoons and mangoes
leapfrogs and toads

Spring is pretty
but short and sweet
when you can smell the grass
from your garden seat

Autumn is English
in red, yellow and brown
Autumn is Indian
whenever leaves fall down

This is Indian seasonal english poem.

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