Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake by Northrop Frye (PDF)

Description

This brilliant outline of Blake’s thought and commentary on his poetry comes on the crest of the current interest in Blake, and carries us further towards an understanding of his work than any previous study. Here is a dear and complete solution to the riddles of the longer poems, the so-called “Prophecies,” and a demonstration of Blake’s insight that will amaze the modern reader. The first section of the book shows how Blake arrived at a theory of knowledge that was also, for him, a theory of religion, of human life and of art, and how this rigorously defined system of ideas found expression in the complicated but consistent symbolism of his poetry. The second and third parts, after indicating the relation of Blake to English literature and the intellectual atmosphere of his own time, explain the meaning of Blake’s poems and the significance of their characters.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Some time ago I reread Northrop Frye’s Fearful Symmetry before having another read through of the poems of William Blake including the longer poems The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem. Despite my appreciation of Frye’s book I was struck by the disconnect between many of Frye’s well-expressed and coherent ideas and the poems themselves. I noticed also that Frye barely quoted from any of the poems or analyzed any passage specifically. At that point I started to look around for other texts which offered a different viewpoint from Frye to see if my dissatisfaction was justified or not. The more I read the alternative views the more convinced I became that Frye’s account was seriously deficient. I do not think he is entirely wrong or that there is nothing of value in his book. However, I strongly recommend that readers interested in Blake’s poetry read alternative views. The ones I have found most useful and interesting include the following: The Four Zoas (Photographic Facsimile (Magno & Erdman), Narrative Unbound (Donald Ault), The Dialectic of Vision (Fred Dortort), Dark Figures in the Desired Country (Gerda Norvig), The Traveler in the Evening (Morton Paley), Rethinking Blake’s Textuality (Molly Rothenberg),Blake’s Critique of Transcendence (Peter Otto) and some of the articles in Blake’s Sublime Allegory (Curran & Wittreich Eds.) I might note that after doing all this reading of the poems and about Blake I am convinced that the unpublished The Four Zoas is the central and most significant poem Blake wrote and that both Milton and Jerusalem suffer in comparison with it. The problem that Blake may have realized with the Four Zoas was that it could never be published in its authentic form due to the graphic (for the time) psychosexual content of the illustrations (the subtitle of the poem is The Torments of Love and Jealousy).

⭐Frye’s very substantial study of Blake is an wonderful guide to the poet’s symbolism and to his significance as a mystical artist. Indeed the relationship between mysticism and art forms a substantial theme in the book. The central myth of Blake’s prophecies, Albion‘s fall and redemption through the creative imagination (symbolized by Jesus), is treated extensively, unifying the accounts from Jerusalem, the unfinished Four Zoas, Daughters of Albion, Milton, as well as the engravings for these and other works. “Read William Blake or go to hell – that’s my message for the modern world!” Frye once remarked.

⭐I read this book along with the complete works of William Blake. Was very good. Seems to be that I also read Bacon’s essays around this time to get an idea of the opposition. I am not sure that I have made contact with “the prophetic” but am still processing an important facet of civilization and maybe even post-civilization. Blake did not suffer from psychosis at least not in the usual sense. But he does help us plumb the depths of madness of the enlightened type. Poetry must not be left out of the republic. Poetic imagination is an important part of good citizenship.

⭐I have a much clearer sense of Blake’s writings now that I’ve read this book. I took a long time in finishing it, reading some major poems by W.B. at the same time. This is really an exciting book; it brings to life a whole universe – that lived in the poet’s imagination. Blake is alive today (in the spirit of his artistic creations) I am convinced. William Blake had a great gift for describing aspects of real life in a way that was inspired by the Bible, and some other imaginative or visionary artists and poets; he was also highly opinionated. It’s impressive how well Frye understood Blake’s gift, and his personal life, which also makes a strand of this effort, which is a literary effort in it’s own right. Anyone with an interest in Blake ought to read this book. It’s a tool that allows one to approach Blake’s creations of writing and visual artistry with an active (as well as open) mind.

⭐Blake is a conundrum, but well worth studying with an open mind and a sense of wonder. This book supports one’s journey and prompts one to read Blake’s texts with a growing awareness of their value to us, enmeshed as we are in the machine era that he abhorred.

⭐A great book to last for a lifetime into eternity. Northrop Frye’s perceptions are subtle and open the works of Blake and others in a way that is simply astonishing and like no other book I have ever read. A masterpiece about a genius.

⭐as a critic, northrop frye is the complete critic…his blending of all of literature helps to lead in other directions…before you know it, you’re off on another subject…as in this case, english social history become a source of blake’s search…bye

⭐Best book of literary criticism in the English language. By far the best critical study of William Blake, who actually said what hemeant and meant what he said.

⭐I’m still reading this its talking about some deep concepts, I wonder what Blakes reaction would be like if he was alive to this book, amazingly written with megatons of insight if you looking for information on the world of William Blake this is a great place to start, I also recommend ‘Witness Against The Beast (William Blake and The Moral Law) and Prophet against Empire.

⭐This book would appeal to readers desiring a profound understanding of Blake’s writing. Professor Frey’s erudition makes tremendous demands on his readers and provides an incredibly detailed explanation of Blake’s mythopoetic vision of the world. Frye emphasizes Blake’s uncompromising integrity in forever staying true to his genius despite the harsh criticisms of many of his contemporaries. The book deserves this ranking because Frye cements Blake’s importance in the history of literature.

⭐Blake is Blake (you either get him or you don’t), and fascinating in his own right, but Northrop Frye clearly steals the show in this brilliant critical study of the enigmatic poet.

⭐Un libro classico, essencial para estudiantes de Blake, y Literatura Ingles. Un libro lleno de claridad cultural y spiritual.Thorough exploration of all the varied influences in the life of Blake.I am told by an expert in English literature that Northrop Frye is considered quirky, but sound!

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