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The Well-Tempered Critic
"It is worth a hundred ordinary critical studies..." - George P. Elliot, The Hudson Review
Few lovers of literature, students, or even scholars are trained in the art of criticism. While our universities emphasize research and specialization, the student, as a critic, is largely self-taught. In this book Mr. Frye establishes some basic tools for criticism because "without the possibility of criticism as a structure of knowledge, culture, and society with it, would be condemned to morbid antagonism between the supercilious refined and the resentful un-refined." These critical principles may enable the well-read layman as well as the literary researcher to respond to works of literature of widely divergent styles and allow his critical judgment to relate them to literary culture as a whole.
Few lovers of literature, students, or even scholars are trained in the art of criticism. While our universities emphasize research and specialization, the student, as a critic, is largely self-taught. In this book Mr. Frye establishes some basic tools for criticism because "without the possibility of criticism as a structure of knowledge, culture, and society with it, would be condemned to morbid antagonism between the supercilious refined and the resentful un-refined." These critical principles may enable the well-read layman as well as the literary researcher to respond to works of literature of widely divergent styles and allow his critical judgment to relate them to literary culture as a whole.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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About the author
Northrop Frye
210 books306 followersBorn 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 18, 2022
I thoroughly marked up the first and third essays and stretched hard to understand the second.
I really should transcribe my favorite sections but if you listen to The Literary Life Podcast you will hear many of them in passing.
Northrup Frye The Well-Tempered Critic
"What is true of nature is also true of freedom. The Half-baked Rousseauism in which most of us have been brought up has given us a subconscious notion that the free act is the untrained act. But of course freedom has nothing to do with lack of training. We are not free to move until we have learned to walk; We are not free to express ourselves musically until w ehave learned music; we are not capable of free thought unless we can think. Similarly, free speech cannot have anything to do with the mumbling and grousing of ego. Free speech is cultivated and precise speech, which means that there are far too many people who are neither capable of it nor would know if they lost it. A group of individuals, who retain the power and desire of genuine communication, is a society. An aggregrate of egos is a mob."
I really should transcribe my favorite sections but if you listen to The Literary Life Podcast you will hear many of them in passing.
Northrup Frye The Well-Tempered Critic
"What is true of nature is also true of freedom. The Half-baked Rousseauism in which most of us have been brought up has given us a subconscious notion that the free act is the untrained act. But of course freedom has nothing to do with lack of training. We are not free to move until we have learned to walk; We are not free to express ourselves musically until w ehave learned music; we are not capable of free thought unless we can think. Similarly, free speech cannot have anything to do with the mumbling and grousing of ego. Free speech is cultivated and precise speech, which means that there are far too many people who are neither capable of it nor would know if they lost it. A group of individuals, who retain the power and desire of genuine communication, is a society. An aggregrate of egos is a mob."
February 5, 2014
Northrop Frye’s The Well-Tempered Critic is a brilliant take on writing, academia, and culture as a whole. His book is unique from other critiques on literary theory as he emphasizes the importance of the language spoken and not just language written. Frye writes in his first chapter, “Good writing must be based on good speech, it will never come alive it is based on reading alone.”
Frye divides language into a three-part model and walks the reader through each little nook-and-cranny of his idea. He divides language into the Poetic (rhythm caused by the beat of the words), Prose (rhythm caused by the sentence), and Associate (informal, everyday kind of talk.) Frye also divides the written language into his last chapter: Hieratic (High style) and Demiotic (low style).
Frye’s work is full of insight and intellectualism, and void of the intimidation factor which might be associated with a piece by Keats, Bloom, Eagleton, and other big name critics. Frye’s diction is invitingly instructive, docilely dense, and meekly meticulous. His attention to detail and organization of thought work well to ensure the reader’s comprehension of Frye’s obvious intellect.
A worthwhile read for any student, scholar, or professional associated with the written and spoken word.
Frye divides language into a three-part model and walks the reader through each little nook-and-cranny of his idea. He divides language into the Poetic (rhythm caused by the beat of the words), Prose (rhythm caused by the sentence), and Associate (informal, everyday kind of talk.) Frye also divides the written language into his last chapter: Hieratic (High style) and Demiotic (low style).
Frye’s work is full of insight and intellectualism, and void of the intimidation factor which might be associated with a piece by Keats, Bloom, Eagleton, and other big name critics. Frye’s diction is invitingly instructive, docilely dense, and meekly meticulous. His attention to detail and organization of thought work well to ensure the reader’s comprehension of Frye’s obvious intellect.
A worthwhile read for any student, scholar, or professional associated with the written and spoken word.
July 30, 2022
I felt so alive with ideas while reading this. This is a book to revisit because there is so much more to glean and understand from it. One reading (especially of the third essay) will not be sufficient.
June 15, 2016
Frye is a wonderful scholar and critic, but he has some screwy ideas in his basic philosophy of literature and metaphor. I can't say I understand them completely, but it seems that he has to bend and contort his ideas to preserve his humanism. Because he has no room for a Creator God, literature is an entirely human affair which holds together because of our likes and dislikes, that is, what we associate ourselves with. He explains this more clearly in The Educated Imagination, but these crummy ideas creep into this book as well.
There are some great insights and bits of advice in here.
"Now if we write in a way that we never speak, the first thing that disappears is the rhythm. It is hardly possible to give any spring or bounce to words unless they come out of our own bodies an are, like dancing or singing, an expression of physical as well as mental energy." (35)
"The words used are the form of which the ideas as the content, and until the words have been found, the idea does not exist." (37)
"But of course freedom has nothing to do with lack of training. We are not free to move until we have learned to walk; we are not free to express ourselves musically until we have learne music; we are not capable of free thought unless we can think." (43
There are some great insights and bits of advice in here.
"Now if we write in a way that we never speak, the first thing that disappears is the rhythm. It is hardly possible to give any spring or bounce to words unless they come out of our own bodies an are, like dancing or singing, an expression of physical as well as mental energy." (35)
"The words used are the form of which the ideas as the content, and until the words have been found, the idea does not exist." (37)
"But of course freedom has nothing to do with lack of training. We are not free to move until we have learned to walk; we are not free to express ourselves musically until we have learne music; we are not capable of free thought unless we can think." (43
March 24, 2011
Fairly good Frye. He relates it to his earlier Anatomy of Critism.
Early gives an early shout-out to assonance, which is really what those Rapmetric guys deserve the applause for.
Discusses low- middle- high- for verse and prose. His ideal is comparable to the ideal in Educated Imagination. High-prose is virtuous, humane, egal, community-building idealism. He dialects art being as reflective of reality vs human, composed and prone to cultural artifact. He deals with it by being inclusive saying: right now the Marxists look the aspects of the author and there's a trend in the West to do the opposite, to focus the academy at bits of text, but that's neither of those is the way authors write literature. You read a book looking to read the sliz out of it, for the sake of the beauty of the work, but we come at each book in our time and imagine the reality of the author with our biases (if nothing else, painting the landscapes with our palette).
Dickens was the first write "associative" thought. Hyphenated reality-idea after idea-scatterbrained. Asshole.
Early gives an early shout-out to assonance, which is really what those Rapmetric guys deserve the applause for.
Discusses low- middle- high- for verse and prose. His ideal is comparable to the ideal in Educated Imagination. High-prose is virtuous, humane, egal, community-building idealism. He dialects art being as reflective of reality vs human, composed and prone to cultural artifact. He deals with it by being inclusive saying: right now the Marxists look the aspects of the author and there's a trend in the West to do the opposite, to focus the academy at bits of text, but that's neither of those is the way authors write literature. You read a book looking to read the sliz out of it, for the sake of the beauty of the work, but we come at each book in our time and imagine the reality of the author with our biases (if nothing else, painting the landscapes with our palette).
Dickens was the first write "associative" thought. Hyphenated reality-idea after idea-scatterbrained. Asshole.
May 15, 2016
Very difficult to read book. The famed Northrop Frye is a very intelligent man, and as such introduces abstract literary concepts with vocabulary that is quite advanced. Never the less, the book despite being a short read, is packed with information and anew viewpoint of literature. It differentiates between 3 styles- high middle and low, and encourages the reader to think about other books they read in context of this model. I have done so, and I feel that this model, alongside the book it is presented in, help me better understand literature.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews