Northrop Frye

Northrop Frye

Frye believed that most criticism is commentary. It has notes and it needs to be explained. He says that criticism needs to be scientific. But then he says that literature is not a science, it is only the criticism that is. Later on, though, he says that literature has to be a science  in some ways. He believed that we can group each kind of literature into Summer, Fall, Spring, and Winter.

Summer- this is the marriage or the triumph phase. A good example of this would be A Midsummer Night's Dream. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia and Lysander want to be together and Helena wants to be with Demetrius. However, they have spells put on them and everything goes crazy. In the end though, Hermia marries Lysander, Helena marries Demetrius, and Hippolyta and Theseus marry. So there is a triple wedding at the end.



Autumn- this is the death phase. There is usually violence and sacrifice. A good example of this would be Romeo and Juliet for obvious reasons.



Winter- this is the dissolution phase. Example of this would be Hogwarts in Harry Potter when the school is being destroyed.

Spring- This is the birth of rebirth of the hero or heroine. An example I like to use for this is the rebirth of the phoenix in Harry Potter.