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Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy
In the Alexander Lectures for 1965-66 at the University of Toronto, Dr. Frye describes the basis of the tragic vision as "being in time," in which death as "the essential event that gives shape and form to life ... defines the individual, and marks him off from the continuity of life that flows indefinitely between the past and the future." In Dr. Frye's view, three general types can be distinguished in Shakespearean tragedy, the tragedy of order, the tragedy of passion, and the tragedy of isolation, in all of which a pattern of "being in time" shapes the action. In the first type, of which Julius caesar, Macbeth, and Hamlet are examples, a strong ruler is killed, replaced by a rebel-figure, and avenged by a nemesis-figure; in the second, represented by Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, and Troilus and Cressida, authority is split and the hero is destroyed by a conflict between social and personal loyalties; and in the third, Othello, King Lear, and Timon of Athens , the central figure is cut off from his world, largely as a result of his failure to comprehend the dynamics of that world. What all these plays show us, Dr. Frye maintains, is "the impact of heroic energy on the human situation" with the result that the "heroic is normally destroyed ... and the human situation goes on surviving." Fools of Time will be welcomed not only by many scholars who are familiar with Dr. Frye's keen critical insight but also by undergraduates, graduates, high-school and university teachers who have long valued his work as a means toward a firmer grasp and deeper understanding of English literature.
130 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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About the author
Northrop Frye
209 books302 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2023
"Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy " is a collection of three public lectures given at Victoria College (University of Toronto) during the 1965-66 academic year. In it the great Northrop Frye is uncharacteristically muddled and disorganized. In the final pages, Frye appears quite surprised to admit that he has demonstrated that what Nietzsche wrote about Greek tragedy holds for the tragedies of Shakespeare. Tragedy is not in Frye's view compatible with the Christian view of life. At the end the hero is profoundly isolated humanity and his death has no meaning. He is not a redeemer but a scapegoat. Frye's viewpoint then is consistent with that of Nietzsche who argued that tragedy is a celebration of the absurdity of life and thus profoundly pagan.
With one simple idea at the core, Frye in his usual fashion manages to touch on a great many issues in this short book. He insists that it is important to remember that Shakespeare is not our contemporary but a man of the now distant Renaissance. Shakespeare's view politics however does not belong to the era of Machiavelli; his dramas take place in an earlier primitive time when simple family or clan loyalties prevailed. At several points, Frye argues that Shakespeare's historical plays belong to the same group as his tragedies. In all his scatter-gun barrage of insights, however, he keeps returning to the theses of Nietzsche found in "The Birth of Tragedy."
"Fools of Time" has plenty of nuggets that will delight Frye's admirers. However, it is far below Frye's usual high standard and would make a terrible book for the reader unfamiliar with Frye to begin with.
With one simple idea at the core, Frye in his usual fashion manages to touch on a great many issues in this short book. He insists that it is important to remember that Shakespeare is not our contemporary but a man of the now distant Renaissance. Shakespeare's view politics however does not belong to the era of Machiavelli; his dramas take place in an earlier primitive time when simple family or clan loyalties prevailed. At several points, Frye argues that Shakespeare's historical plays belong to the same group as his tragedies. In all his scatter-gun barrage of insights, however, he keeps returning to the theses of Nietzsche found in "The Birth of Tragedy."
"Fools of Time" has plenty of nuggets that will delight Frye's admirers. However, it is far below Frye's usual high standard and would make a terrible book for the reader unfamiliar with Frye to begin with.
November 18, 2017
After reading Frye's tour through Shakespearean tragedies, I feel like I have listened to Mozart's choral works or Mahler's symphonies. It is an experience. His range and grasp seep into my understanding like olive oil enriching bread. He lets me appreciate Shakespeare anew.
His monograph on Shakespeare's tragedies whet my appetite and satisfy my yen at the same time.
His monograph on Shakespeare's tragedies whet my appetite and satisfy my yen at the same time.
March 12, 2016
The title is derived from Sonnet 124. The book is not a compendium of essays. Rather, it is a collection of the texts of lectures by the author. They are "Studies of Shakespearean Tragedy." Specifically, tragedy of order, of passion, and of isolation. Chapters are lengthy in the 30 to 50 page range. Thus, each is a bit of time to read. A wide range of plays are represented including the rarely discussed "Troilus and Cressida," "Henry the VI," and the "Richards." Be prepared. The author uses many Latin terms such as senex iratus, de jure, and de facto among others.
June 15, 2013
Interesting study of the structure of tragedy in Shakespeare. Much of it went over my head, with so many references to plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries, Elizabethan and Greek drama, and much more. In spite of that, I understood enough of it to keep reading, and it offered a useful framework for thinking about tragedies (as well as comedies). Even better, it provides the unexpected-yet-awesome term, "the devil's bubble-gum."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews