Frye Studies
2 total works
In the 1970s and 80s, Northrop Frye and Jay Macpherson co-taught a very influential course at the University of Toronto's Victoria College on the history of Western mythology - Frye focusing on the biblical myths; Macpherson on the classical. Biblical and Classical Myths recreates the thought behind that course, with Frye's lectures - unpublished until very recently - supplemented by Macpherson's popular 1962 textbook on classical mythology, Four Ages: The Classical Myths. Frye's lectures on the Bible make up the first half of the book. He expounds on an array of topics, including translations of the bible, sexual imagery, pastoral and agricultural imagery, and law and revolution in the bible. Four Ages makes up the second half. Macpherson narrates the major classical myths from stories of creation to the myths' survival in later European traditions. By complementing the biblical tradition with the classical, this volume imparts a comprehensive understanding of western mythology. With a preface by Alvin Lee, general editor of the Collected Works of Northrop Frye, Biblical and Classical Myths is an essential volume and represents a unique achievement in scholarship.
Northrop Frye's Uncollected Prose, which features twenty-one pieces in the form of notes, prefaces, reviews, and talks, is the latest addition to the impressive body of writing by and about Frye. Among the highlights of the collection are Frye's "Notes on Romance," written in preparation for the lectures that eventually became The Secular Scripture; a newly discovered early notebook, parts of which may date from his second year as an undergraduate at Victoria College; and a pair of previously unavailable interviews. Expertly introduced by Robert D. Denham, one of the leading editors of Frye's papers, Northrop Frye's Uncollected Prose offers valuable insight into Frye's early life, his research methodology, and thought process, and is further proof of the remarkable depth and range of his work.