Northrop Frye on Shakespeare

by Northrop Frye

Well-known as a critic, Northrop Frye is also a renowned educator. This book, for the first time, allows us access to his classroom. Here he discusses Shakespeare's comedies, histories and tragedies, and introduces us to a new category - Shakespeare's romances, those glittering, frightening, magical plays of the playwright's later years. Dr. Frye presents lucid expositions of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Henry IV, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest, relating each of these works to others in the Shakespeare canon so that by the end of the book new light has been shed on all of Shakespeare's plays. Within this framework, Frye discusses many of the central elements of Shakespearean drama - from the traditions of comedy and tragedy to the historical background of the plays, from imagery and patterning to characterization, from the use of myth, folklore, and the supernatural to the anthropological roots of Shakespeare's ideas. Northrop Frye on Shakespeare will be invaluable to any student of literature, but its clarity and accessibility will also attract anyone with an interest in Shakespearean drama. It is as useful to the playgoer as it is to the academic, and proves that literary criticism can be as amusing as it is rewarding.

Genres: Shakespeare, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Criticism, Literature, Essays, History

186 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

About the author

Born in Quebec but raised in New Brunswick, Frye studied at the University of Toronto and Victoria University. He was ordained to the ministry of the United Church of Canada and studied at Oxford before returning to UofT.

His first book, Fearful Symmetry, was published in 1947 to international acclaim. Until then, the prophetic poetry of William Blake had long been poorly understood, considered by some to be delusional ramblings. Frye found in it a system of metaphor derived from Paradise Lost and the Bible. His study of Blake's poetry was a major contribution. Moreover, Frye outlined an innovative manner of studying literature that was to deeply influence the study of literature in general. He was a major influence on, among others, Harold Bloom and Margaret Atwood.

In 1974-1975 Frye was the Norton professor at Harvard University.

Frye married Helen Kemp, an educator, editor and artist, in 1937. She died in Australia while accompanying Frye on a lecture tour. Two years after her death in 1986 he married Elizabeth Brown. He died in 1991 and was interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario. The Northrop Frye Centre at Victoria College at the University of Toronto was named in his honour.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop...

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many good insights! And lots of great humor too! This definitely won’t be my last Northrop Frye book. I’ll be returning to his insights again and again as I reread plays too. I do still have one essay to read in this book (Antony and Cleopatra). I’ll come back around to it once I read the play.

[Timilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of lectures & notes I'll turn to again and again to inform my understanding of the themes, structure, and relationship ms between several of Shakespeare's plays.

[Karen Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and informative book that helps explain the plots and characters of Shakespeare's plays-- I wanted to read something like this before I try to tackle reading any more of the plays themselves. Hamlet and Macbeth were fairly easy to read, of course, since I"ve seen so many productions of both (and seeing the action/story played out on the stage by actors makes understanding the dry text much easier in contex) but I wanted a scholarly essay that would help analyze some of the other plays that I haven't yet seen on stage or screen, before I attempt to read them! Recommended for anyone else interested in reading about Shakespeare's work from an analytical point of view.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The original writer is not the writer who thinks up a new story—there aren't any new stories, really—but the writer who tells one of the world's great stories in a new way."

I have been on the biggest Shakespeare kick recently, which has absolutely blown my mind. It feels as though a switch has been flipped, like I suddenly understand a new language. I’ve been beyond excited over it, and that enthusiasm has seeped into other areas of my reading life. Specifically, I’ve been all about the Shakespeare commentaries, having a handful that I turn to after reading every play, excited to see what little nuggets of wit I missed along the way. I intended to merely add this book to the roster, but I ended up reading it straight through.

In this collection of Frye’s thoughts on Shakespeare, he walks us through ten of the Bard’s plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, Henry IV, Measure for Measure, Hamlet, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. The collection as a whole reads like a series of really compelling, entertaining class lectures, with the occasional bit of snark and humor thrown in to keep the students engaged. It was insightful and just amusing enough to not be dry without becoming distracting. I would have loved to take a Shakespeare class under him as my professor, but this book was the next best thing.

I'll leave you with Frye’s parting words from the final chapter, discussing The Tempest:

"In many tales of the Tempest type, the island sinks back into the sea when the magician leaves. But we, going out of the theatre, perhaps have it in our pockets like an apple: perhaps our children can sow the seeds in the sea and bring forth again the island that the world has been searching for since the dawn of history, the island that is both nature and human society restored to their original form, where there is no sovereignty and yet where all of us are kings."

[Czarny Pies · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Northrop Frye on Shakespeare" was a great pleasure for me to read probably because I was an undergraduate at Victoria College in the 1970s while he was still teaching there. The book is comprised of the lecture notes that Frye used for his undergraduate course on Shakespeare. The goal of these lectures it must be noted was not to present any of Frye's major theses but rather to tell freshmen and sophomores what they needed to know about Shakespeare in order to participate effectively in more advanced courses in their junior or senior years. These lectures served brilliantly in their day but are they are probably not well-suited to the current crop of first year students who are arriving on campus with different reading experiences from those of my generation.

This much said, the pedagogical virtues of the lectures in this collection are many. Frye is very good at explaining what can be learned from the study of the first published Shakespearean works (i.e. the quartos and the folios.) Similarly, he does an outstanding job comparing the thematic interests of Shakespeare with those of his fellow Elizabethan dramatists (Ben Jonson, John Lyly, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker etc.) Finally, he describes in enlightening fashion how Shakespeare used the works of historians such as Geoffrey of Monmouth ("King Lear") and Plutarch ("Anthony and Cleopatra", "Julius Caesar").

There are lapses of scholarship to be found in Frye's book however. Inexplicably Frye does not mention Matteo Bandello's "Romeo and Juliet" as the source for Shakespeare's play which it clearly is but instead implies that the origin can be found in anecdote in Dante's "Divine Comedy" .

Given that a major theme in Frye's works was the great influence of the Bible on Western Literature, it is not surprising that in his lectures on Shakespeare, he frequently cites instances the characters quote or paraphrase scripture. He does so with admirable discretion however not allowing it to overwhelm the other issues discussed.

Frye also makes the interesting point, that the Shakespearean plays that most interest the public vary with the historical era. Frye asserts that " Hamlet" was the most highly regarded work in the 19th when Romanticism held sway. During the first half of the 20th century when world events were dominated by "predatory rulers", "King Lear" came to the fore. Frye then makes the prediction that in the second half of the 20th Century, when politics is dominated by intrigue, "Anthony and Cleopatra" will attract more attention. This in fact did not come out but Frye was still correct to point out that the popularities of the different plays fluctuate from one era to the next.

Frye was a charming man who throughout his career had the ability to fire the enthusiasm of young people for literature. Unfortunately I am not so sure that the lectures contained in this book will have the same magical effect that they did 50 years ago. Too much has changed in the interim.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frye's classic nonfiction literary criticism of nine of Shakespeare's plays. A must read for all teachers of Shakespeare or readers who love Shakespeare.

[Jacob Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frye goes through a selected set of plays and gives a general survey on each of them. He's got a very engaging style, very colloquial and casual (as compared to more academic writings) and probably just transcripts for lectures on Shakespeare courses he would teach at Yale. While he never does anything too exciting, he still has some nice readings (especially his take on Measure for Measure which I think is spot-on, and also to a lesser extent for lear). Again it's pretty short and while he preaches good stuff it's mostly another enjoyable survey through Shakespeare. I mean, it's basically the book equivalent of auditing a yale coursee with Northrop Frye on Shakespeare, which I don't think anyone would turn down.

[Brian Prousky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was one of the fortunate many who got to hear Northrop Frye lecture on Shakespeare at the University of Toronto. This is as close as it gets to the electric majesty of his assailant voice in the lecture hall where I could swear the playwright and the world in which he wrote came alive before our eyes. It's common knowledge that the Chandos Portrait is likely the only accurate (supposedly accurately) portrayal of Shakespeare. I disagree. This is the most accurate.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frye gives a cohesive look at a variety of Shakespeare's plays. He uses accessible but thoughtful language that is informative.

[Tian Gao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly readable. I expected it to be drier than it was.

[David Kowalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and lively. This book accompanied me on my journey through Shakespeare’s Cannon. Delightful.

[Michael I · Rating 4 out of 5]

top tier analysis. Frye is leagues above Bloom.

[Billy Groble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prefer this analysis to blooms, despite not necessarily buying the core thesis of archetypal structure.

[Waleed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compiled from Frye's lectures to undergraduates at Victoria College Toronto, a lot of these lectures seem more suited to GCSE level. The later lectures have some interesting insights using archetypal criticism.

[David Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoy Frye’s style. Not as haughty as Bloom. You feel like your in Frye’s lecture hall and he passes insight after insight. Enjoyable and accessible.

[Paytan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible writing and interesting arguments! Frye is a go-to for me because his readings of Shakespeare always manage to increase my enjoyment of the original works, which is more than I can say for most of the papers I’ve encountered so far. Not that they’re not informative, but I’m not always intrigued by (or even comfortable with) the interpretations.

I especially enjoyed the chapters on Hamlet and King Lear. More of a personal preference, but it was refreshing to see Frye acknowledge the situation in Hamlet that “Freudian critics” tend to focus on but then completely move on to more interesting aspects of the play.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing + sound + sane about Shakespeare. Has a chapter on Midsummer as well as incidental comments so reading my way through again in preparation. Good job of discussing language, character and place in literature. Frye also keeps the reader and the conversation grounded in the practicalities of theatre.

[Steven]

focuses on the class system of the time to illuminate WS the historical character...also tries to capture what is going on with WS the poet who speaks to all times and places...too much from the point of view of "the noted critic Northrop Frye" but nonetheless a terrific book

[Paola]

- romeo e giulietta
- sogno di una notte di mezza estate
- riccardo III, enrico IV
- amleto
- re lear
- antonio e cleopatra
- misura per misura
- il racconto d'inverno, la tempesta
- la tempesta

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also a good read-along, Frye only covers some of the plays, but what he does cover is well worth looking at.

[Smiley]

I bought this second-hand Fitzhenry & Whiteside hardcover at the BookExpo XIV (15-25 October) in BKK yesterday (approx. US$ 4.00).

[Lazarus P Badpenny Esq]

Don't be fooled by the thumbnail - my old edition is possibly the ugliest book I've ever seen; nevertheless, it's arrived with a day to spare before my assignment is due.

[David Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful analysis and insight into some of Shakespeare's best plays - my only complaint is that it wasn't ten times longer, or at least long enough to consider Macbeth and Othello.