Thinking Activity on Northrop Frye: "The Archetype of literature"

                                                     

Herman Northrop Frye was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of 20th century.Northrop Frye developed a theory of literature based on myths and Archetypes.

1.What is Archetypal Criticism? What does the archetypal critic do?

In literary criticism the term archetype denotes recurrent designs,pattern of action,character-type,themes and images which are identifiable in a wide variety of works of literature,as well as in myths,dreams and even social rituals. The archetypal critic tries to find this pattern,symbols and myths in present literary work.

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

Northrop Frye has given a very unique idea of Archetypal Criticism by comparing the human emotions or human characteristics with the cycle of seasons.

Spring

The Spring season represents the Comedy. As the genre of comedy is characterized by the birth of hero,revival and resurrection. Spring also symbolizes the defeat of winter and darkness.

Summer

The season of summer indicates the Romance because summer is the culmination of life in the seasonal calendar, and the romance genre culminates with some sort of triumph,usually marriage.

 Autumn

The Autumn season signify the genre of Tragedy. As the Autumn is the dying stage of the seasonal calendar. That's why the Autumn is parallels to the genre of tragedy, because the genre of tragedy is known for the fall or demise of the protagonist.

 Winter

 The season of winter denotes the satire genre because of its darkness. It is a disillusioned   and mocking form of the three other genres.It is noted for its darkness,dissolution,the return  of chaos and the defeat of heroic figure.

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

Literature is the central division of the Humanities, flanked on one side by history and on the other side by philosophy.Here we can say that history and philosophy are twin pillars of literature.History represents the what was happen in past. Basically history is about past events and actions. While Philosophy is about morality and ethics of life.literature . Frye has used the word centrifugal which means to go away from literature and find background to understand literature.So for the batter understanding of the literature reader have to refer framework of history and philosophy for the understanding of ethics.

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

Inductive method is journey which leads from specific to general.As we read some specific literary work and comes to a general conclusion,in this way we extend from specific outcome to general outcome.The best example of this method is grave digging scene from Hamlet, it is a specific scene and from that scene we come to some general conclusion. In that scene there were two grave diggers and they seemed in  quite in harmony with their work.They were talking with one another and singing a song during the time of grave digging.They were also mocking on dead Ophelia and commented that whether she allowed to buried or not. Here we can see that they have no grief for deadly one.It was their work and that's why they were habituated with it. It became their general work so they have  no emotion for dead one.

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

Deductive method is a journey from general to specific.Music and rhythm both are the form of art. Music is a form of art which moves in time and painting is a form of art which moves in space.Music is rhythm and painting is pattern. In a music we can understand the rhythm of it while in painting we can understand the pattern of it.Rhythm is a narrative form,while pattern is simultaneous mental grasp of verbal structure and it has meaning and significance.It provides a mental visual. By listening some of the music we can't get everything, but  by looking at painting we can get idea of it's pattern.      

6. Apply archetypal approach in any poem with reference to the Indian seasonal grid.

   

        

    

In India there are three main seasons which are known as winter,summer and monsoon. According to Hindu scriptures we have six seasons:

Vasant Ritu: Spring.

Grishma Ritu: Summer.

Varsha Ritu: Monsoon.

Sharad Ritu: Autumn.

Hemant Ritu: Prewinter.

Shishir or Shita Ritu: Winter.

In this poem by Suresh Dalal, he describes Autumn and Spring season. The beginning of the poem indicates that it is the time of the Autumn and spring will be arrived soon.As soon as the spring is arrived it brings with it happiness in nature as well as in humanlife. Here we can find a major difference between Western seasonal and Indian seasonal grid. In western world spring symbolizes the defeat of Winter and darkness while in the India spring is symbolizes as the new beginning in the nature and seed begin to grow.