Assignment on Northrop Frye: The Archetypes of Literature
Name :-
Rajdip.P.Gohel
Roll. No:- 27
Paper No:- 7 -
Literary Theory and Criticism 2
Class:- M.A Sem-2
Topic:- Northrop
Frye: The Archetypes of Literature
Enrolment No:-
2069108420190017
College:-
Smt.S.B.Gardi Department Of English
Submitted:-
Department Of English M.K.University, Bhavnagar
What is
Archetypal Criticism?:-
In literary criticism the term Archetype
denotes recurrent narratives designs, patterns of action, character types,
themes, and images which are identifiable in a wide variety of works of
literature, as well as in myths, dreams, and even social rituals. Such
recurrent items are held to be the result of elemental and universal forms or
patterns in the human psyche, whose effective embodiment in a literary work
evokes a profound response from the attentive reader, because he or she shares
the psychic archetypes expressed by the author. An important antecedent of the
literary theory of the archetype was the treatment of myth by a group of
comparative anthropologists at Cambridge university, especially James G.
Frazer, whose The Golden Bough identified elemental patterns of myth and ritual
that, claimed, recur in the legends and ceremonials of diverse and far flung
cultures and religions. An even more important antecedent was the depth
psychology of Carl G. Jung, who applied the term “archetype” to what he called
“primordial images”, the “psychic residue” of repeated patterns of experience
in our very ancient ancestors which, he maintained, survive in the “collective
unconscious” of the human race and are expressed in myths, religion, dreams,
and private fantasies, as well as in works of literature.
Frye proposed that the totality of literary works constitute a
“self-contained literary universe” which has been created over the ages by the
human imagination so as to assimilate the alien and indifferent world of nature
into archetypal forms that serve to satisfy enduring human desires and needs.
In this literary universe, four radical mythoi(i.e. plot forms, or organizing structural principles),
correspondent to the four seasons in the cycle of the natural world, are
incorporated in the four major genres of
comedy (spring), romance (summer), tragedy (autumn), and satire (winter).
Within the overarching
archetypal mythos of each of these genres, individual works of
literature also play variations upon a number of more limited archetypes – that
is, conventional patterns and types that literature shares with social rituals
as well a with theology, history, law, and , in fact, all “discursive verbal
structures.” Viewed arhetypally, Frye asserted, literature turns out to play an
essential role in refashioning the impersonal material universe into an
alternative verbal universe that is intelligible and viable, because it is adapted
to universal human needs and concerns.
There are two basic categories in Frye’s framework, i.e., comedic and
tragic. Each category is further subdivided into two categories: comedy and romance for
the comedic; tragedy and satire(or ironic) for the tragic. Though
he is dismissive of Frazer, Frye uses the seasons in his archetypal schema.
Each season is aligned with a literary genre: comedy with spring, romance
with summer, tragedy
with autumn, and
satire with winter.
Comedy is
aligned with spring because the genre of comedy is
characterized by the birth of the hero, revival and resurrection.
Also, spring symbolizes the defeat of winter and
darkness.
Romance and summer are
paired together because summer is the culmination of
life in the seasonal calendar, and the romance genre culminates with some
sort of triumph, usually a marriage.
Autumn is
the dying stage of the seasonal calendar, which parallels the tragedy genre
because it is, (above all), known for the “fall” or demise of the protagonist.
Satire is metonymized[2] with winter on
the grounds that satire is a “dark” genre. Satire is a
disillusioned and mocking form of the three other genres. It is noted for its
darkness, dissolution, the return of chaos, and the defeat of the heroic
figure.
There are two basic categories in Frye’s framework, like comedy and
tragic. Each category is further subdivided into two categories like comedy and
romance for the comedic, tragedy and satire for the tragic. Though he is dismissive
of Frazer, Frye uses the seasons in his archetypal schema. Each season is
aligned with a literature genre: comedy with spring, romance with summer,
tragedy with autumn, and satire with winter.
In this
mythos grid explain with many example that connect with season by season and we
know that properly.
· Comedy is aligned
with spring because the genre of comedy is characterized by the birth of the
hero, revival and resurrection. Also, spring symbolizes the defeat of winter
and darkness.
Spring is
for comedy but also about romance so one example is Luka Chuppi movie is
realised in 2019, and in this movie genre is romantic, and comedy movie. In
this we see the mythos grid in lower lines that connect between comedy to
romance. In this movie we see the Vinod “Guddu” Shukla is a television reporter
in Mathura who falls in love with Rashmi Trivedi, a headstrong woman. Guddu
proposes marriage but Rashmi suggests a live-in relationship. Confusion and
chaos begins when both their traditional families assume them to be married and start living
with them. So in this situation we find comedy.
· Romance and summer
are paired together because summer is the culmination of life in the seasonal
calendar, and the romance genre culminates with some sort of triumph, usually a
marriage.
In second
is summer that relationship with Romance and also connect with tragedy. There
are many example like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet,
and many more, lets see the example of Romeo and Juliet. It is an
adaptation and modernization of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the leading roles of
Romeo and Juliet, who instantly fall in love when Romeo crashes a party and
meets her, despite being members of feuding families. And the story goes in the
flaw for only love theme but many problem come front of both the lovers and at
the end both are died and become tragically ending of this story.
· Autumn is the dying
stage of the seasonal calendar, which parallels the tragedy genre because it
is, known for the “fall” of demise of the protagonist.
In this
third season that is Autumn that related with tragedy of protagonist. There are
many example like first is Hamlet, Macbeth, in first part of Robot movie also
have tragically end. Lets see the Hamlet, in this Hamlet delaying in taking
revenge so in all time thinking mind revealed the tragic hero. In last we see
that all are died. Another is Robot movie that, in a court hearing, Vaseegaran
is sentenced to death for the casualties and demages caused by the Robot army,
but Chitti explains that it was Bohra who caused its deviant behaviour and
shows the court video footage of Bohra installing the red chip. The court
releases Vaseegaran, while ordering that chitti be dismantled. Left with no choice, Vaseegaran asks Chitti to
dismantle itself. While saying goodbye, chitti apologises to Vaseegaran and
sana, who forgive it, before dismantling itself. So this was crucial tragedy,
in movie Robot.
· Satire is
metonymized with winter on the grounds that satire is a “dark” genre. Satire is
a disillusioned and mocking from of the three other genres. It is noted for its
darkness, dissolution, the return of chaos, and the defeat of the heroic
figure.
In this
fourth season, we see the darkness of the people and country, by politics, the
point of nationalize people now a days like many movies realised and its based
on country so every human of our country have patriotism. And vote one party.
So whole things about people always in the patriotism prison through this
movies of country mission. So all the things are connected with the politics
and their party.
Summing
up:-
Archetypes
can be found in nearly all forms of literature, with their motifs being predominantly rooted in folklore.
William Shakespeare is known for creating many
archetypal characters that hold great social importance in his native land,
such as
Hamlet, the self-doubting hero and the initiation archetype with the three
stages of separation, transformation, and return;
Falstaff, the bawdy, rotund comic knight;
Romeo and Juliet,
the ill-fated lovers;
Richard II,
the hero who dies with honor; and many others.
Although
Shakespeare based many of his characters on existing archetypes from fablesand myths, Shakespeare's characters stand out as original by their contrast
against a complex, social literary landscape.
For
instance, in The
Tempest, Shakespeare
borrowed from a manuscript by William Strachey that detailed an actual
shipwreck of the Virginia-bound 17th-century English sailing
vessel Sea
Venture in 1609
on the islands of Bermuda. Shakespeare also borrowed heavily from a speech by
Medea in Ovid's Metamorphoses in writingProspero's renunciative speech; nevertheless, the unique combination
of these elements in the character of Prospero created a new interpretation of
the sage magician as that of a carefully plotting hero, quite distinct from the
wizard-as-advisor archetype of Merlin or
Gandalf. Both of these are likely derived from priesthood authority
archetypes, such as Celtic Druids, or
perhaps Biblical figures like Abraham, Moses, etc.; or in the case of Gandalf,
the Norse figure Odin.
sitetion
Comments
Post a Comment