SR: Literature and Religion: Northrop Frye - ritual, myth and the archetypes of literature

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     This task given by Dr. Dilip Barad sir Department of English Maharaj Krishna kumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.

                     #   Northrop Frye 

                           

                  

•He was ordained to the ministry of the united church of Canada and studied at Oxford before returning to voft.

•One of the most recognized authors of literary criticism world -wide.

•Northrop Frye studied at both the university of Toronto and Oxford.

•Herman Northrop Frye was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century.Click here

                     

# His Books:-

Fearful Symmetry (1947)

Fables of Identity (1963)

The Modern Century(1967)

The Stubborn Structure (1970)

The Secular Scripture(1976)

The Great Code(1982)  etc.

                 #Archetype of Literature

The Fables of identity. Studies in poetic Mythology is a critical work published in 1963. The present essay, "Archetypes of literature", is taken from the book. In the essay Frye critically analyses literature against the backdrop of rituals and myths. He interprets literature in the light of various rituals and myths.

                     

                                                                                   • Archetypes are universal symbol.   

• Certain concept are also archetypes.
• Archetype are the residue of innumerable experiences of the same type undergone by the Mind.
• Same experience when repeated over centuries of a wins leave a trace or mark on the human mind.
• The solar cycle,seasonal cycle and life cycle are such repetitive phenomena.

The Comic vision and the Tragic vision a myth

Both art and religion are alike and they aim at perfection. Perfection is the end of all human and in religion it is through visualization. Perfection can be achieved in Literary Criticism also and it is the archetypal critic who does it through an analysis of the comic vision of life and the Tragic vision as well in a work.

Dharma to religion

We have inherited the term religion from the Judeo-Christian tradition and applied it indiscriminately to different Indian philosophies, myths, rituals, and practices. But there is really no one term for religion in India. There never has been. The term dharma does not mean religion. It simply means duty.

                                   

                    

    Religion can be thought of as a set of institutions, a set of ideas and beliefs, or a lived practice all of which have complex relations with each other, and all of which are affected by and in turn affect literature. As a critical approach, literature and religion asks how these impulses compete, coordinate,or otherwise inform one another and other practices and traditions.

Like literature, religion is also,at least in part, a human creation.... Therefore, literature cannot be subjected to any alien norm, be it God or religion. Great literature might have religious elements, or it might not. There is no necessary relationship between literature and religion.

                                     

                

                

The Four Phase of the Myth

Every myth has a central significance and the narrative in a myth centers on a figure that may be a good or demi-god or superhuman being or legend.

                           

1. The dawn, spring and birth phase. There are myths dealing with the birth of a hero, this revival and resurrection, defeat of the powers of darkness and death. Subordinate characters such as the father and the mother are introduced in the Myth. Such myth are the archetypes of romance and of rhapsodic poetry.

2.The Zenith, Summer and marriage or triumph phase, In this phase, there are myths of apotheosis, of sacred marriage and of entering into paradise. Subordinate characters in these myths are the companion and the bride. Such myths are the archetypes of comedy, pastoral and idyll.

3. The sunset, autumn and death phase

 These are the Myths dealing with the fall of a hero, a dying god, violent death, sacrifice and the hero's isolation. The subordinate characters are the traitor and the siren. Such myth are the archetypes of tragedy and elegy.

4. The darkness, winter and desolation phase. There are myths dealing with the triumph of these BN powers. The myth of floods, the  return of chaos and the defeat of the hero are examples of this phase. The ogre and the witch are the subordinate characters here and these Myth are the archetypes of satire.

These are the four categories of myths, which Frye identifies and they recur in different types of works written by different writers. Indeed they constitute the bases of many great pieces of literature.

Thank you.....