CHAT: Northrup Frye

On Thu, 18 Nov 1999, John Cowan wrote:

> Patrick Dunn wrote:
>
> > I expected better of Northrop Frye.
>
> Facts are facts.
Yes, particularly divorced from context -- like, for example, he's
complaining that it's proper for the minority to criticize the majority,
but the majority cannot criticize the minority.  This is like complaining
that it's immoral to rape twelve year old girls -- matters of hierarchal
power structure come into play.

> > Okay, after Anatomy of Criticism, no,
> > I really didn't.
>
> What's wrong with _Anatomy of Criticism_?  A brilliant work.
Really?  Did you read it?  Okay, just kidding.  I slogged my weary way
through it and got sick of the circles within circles, wheels within
wheels, and interlocking cycles within interlocking cycles -- all
essentially useless in actually *analyzing* literature.  In fact, Frye
didn't use it himself, even in _Fearful Symmetry_, which *was* brilliant
(first time someone was able to explain Blake without shrugging and
saying, "as for Blake, he was just nuts").