Myth and Metaphor: Selected Essays 1974-1988

Abstract

The essays in the first section of Myth and Metaphor center on those basic building blocks of literature out of which Frye believes literature is made. The second section examines generally the relationship between literature and mythology on one hand, and social concern and ideology on the other. Because one of the primary ends of education in Frye's view is to make people aware of their mythological conditioning, this section also includes two essays on education. The recurring theme through these writings is the social function of criticism. The essays in section three focus on literature itself - its critique of the purely analytic faculties, its relation to the visual arts, and two of its recurring metaphors (the stage and the journey). The subjects addressed in section four derive from Frye's long-standing preoccupation with the Bible. The book concludes with a group of essays in particular criticism that examine particular works by Thomas More, Castiglione, William Morris, Wagner and Joyce. Together, these essays illustrate the continuity of Frye's vision of culture.

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