Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

In Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth, Glen Robert Gill compares Frye's theories about myth to those of three other major twentieth-century mythologists: C.G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Mircea Eliade. Gill explores the theories of these respective thinkers as they relate to Frye's discussions of the phenomenological nature of myth, as well as its religious, literary, and psychological significance.

Gill substantiates Frye's work as both more radical and more tenable than that of his three contemporaries. Eliade's writings are shown to have a metaphysical basis that abrogates an understanding of myth as truly phenomenological, while Jung's theory of the collective unconscious emerges as similarly problematic. Likewise, Gill argues, Campbell's work, while incorporating some phenomenological progressions, settles on a questionable metaphysical foundation. Gill shows how, in contrast to these other mythologists, Frye's theory of myth - first articulated in Fearful Symmetry (1947) and culminating in Words with Power (1990) - is genuinely phenomenological.

With excursions into fields such as literary theory, depth psychology, theology, and anthropology, Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth is essential to the understanding of Frye's important mythological work.

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Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

In Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth, Glen Robert Gill compares Frye's theories about myth to those of three other major twentieth-century mythologists: C.G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Mircea Eliade. Gill explores the theories of these respective thinkers as they relate to Frye's discussions of the phenomenological nature of myth, as well as its religious, literary, and psychological significance.

Gill substantiates Frye's work as both more radical and more tenable than that of his three contemporaries. Eliade's writings are shown to have a metaphysical basis that abrogates an understanding of myth as truly phenomenological, while Jung's theory of the collective unconscious emerges as similarly problematic. Likewise, Gill argues, Campbell's work, while incorporating some phenomenological progressions, settles on a questionable metaphysical foundation. Gill shows how, in contrast to these other mythologists, Frye's theory of myth - first articulated in Fearful Symmetry (1947) and culminating in Words with Power (1990) - is genuinely phenomenological.

With excursions into fields such as literary theory, depth psychology, theology, and anthropology, Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth is essential to the understanding of Frye's important mythological work.

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Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

by Glen Robert Gill
Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth

by Glen Robert Gill

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Overview

In Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth, Glen Robert Gill compares Frye's theories about myth to those of three other major twentieth-century mythologists: C.G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Mircea Eliade. Gill explores the theories of these respective thinkers as they relate to Frye's discussions of the phenomenological nature of myth, as well as its religious, literary, and psychological significance.

Gill substantiates Frye's work as both more radical and more tenable than that of his three contemporaries. Eliade's writings are shown to have a metaphysical basis that abrogates an understanding of myth as truly phenomenological, while Jung's theory of the collective unconscious emerges as similarly problematic. Likewise, Gill argues, Campbell's work, while incorporating some phenomenological progressions, settles on a questionable metaphysical foundation. Gill shows how, in contrast to these other mythologists, Frye's theory of myth - first articulated in Fearful Symmetry (1947) and culminating in Words with Power (1990) - is genuinely phenomenological.

With excursions into fields such as literary theory, depth psychology, theology, and anthropology, Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth is essential to the understanding of Frye's important mythological work.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781442658387
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Publication date: 12/15/2006
Series: Frye Studies
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 240
File size: 434 KB

About the Author

Glen Robert Gill is an assistant professor in the Department of Classics and General Humanities at Montclair State University.

Table of Contents


Preface     ix
Abbreviations     xiii
Introduction: Phenomenology and Modern Mythography: Northrop Frye in Context and Contrast     3
De Caelis: The Platonic Patterns of Mircea Eliade     21
De Profundis: C.G. Jung and the Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious     45
The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Joseph Campbell and the Two Faces of Myth     73
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: Northrop Frye's Fearful Symmetry     101
Perception and Imagination     101
God and Grammar     120
Archetype and Apocalypse     126
The Visionary Fourth     144
Conclusion: Phenomenology and Postmodern Mythography: Northrop Frye's Words with Power and the Theory of Kerygma     179
Notes     203
Works Cited and Consulted     219
Index     231
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