Collected Works. Vol. 27. "The Critical Path" and Other Writings on Critical Theory 1963-1975

Description

Edited by Jean O'Grady and Eva Kushner. This volume, which collects Northrop Frye's writings on the theory of literary criticism from the middle period of his career, includes one of Frye's own favourites, 'The Critical Path' (1971). A highly important marker of Frye's career, 'The Critical Path' openly addresses topics that he had previously been reluctant to discuss as fully, including the importance of literature to society, the responsibilities of critics, and the deeper rationales for studying literature. Filled with insightful texts that indicate his transition from literary critic to a theorist of language, myth, and human culture, this edition helps to illuminate many of the ideas and arguments that would appear later in 'The Great Code' and 'Words with Power'. Accompanied by the rigorous scholarship for which the series is renowned, this is another valuable contribution to literary criticism and theory. Preface Credits Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Critical Path: An Essay on the Social Context of Literary Criticism 2. Literary Criticism 3. Myth and Poetry 4. Preface to Bachelard's 'The Psychoanalysis of Fire' 5. After the Invocation, a Lapse into Litany 6. Criticism, Visible and Invisible 7. The Structure and Spirit of Comedy 8. The Norms of Satire 9. Allegory 10. Verse and Prose 11. Varieties of Literary Utopias 12. Letter to the English Institute, 1965 13. Reflections in a Mirror 14. Design as a Creative Principle in the Arts 15. Literature and Myth 16. Welcoming Remarks to Conference on Editorial Problems, 1967 17. On Value Judgments 18. Literature and Society 19. 'Mythos' and 'Logos' 20. The Myth of Light 21. Old and New Comedy 22. Sign and Significance 23. Literature and the Law 24. The Search for Acceptable Words 25. The Times of the Signs 26. The Rhythms of Time 27. Charms and Riddles 28. Expanding Eyes Notes Emendations Index