Thinking Activity : Theory of Archetypes

 Hello Friends 

This Blog-post is a response to the thinking activity on Northrop Frye's Theory of Archetypes. This task given by our professor Dr. Dilip Barad sir.

About Northrop Frye :-

Northrop Frye (1912-1991) was a Canadian literary scholar. His literary theories, which outlined a science of literary criticism based on a core of identifiable mythic forms, had unusual importance internationally, particularly in the late 1950s to late 1970s.

Herman Northrop Frye was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec. After the failure of his father's hardware business, his family moved to Moncton, New Brunswick, where he completed his primary and secondary education. His skill as a typist brought him to Toronto to compete in an Underwood-sponsored contest in 1929. He enrolled in Victoria College of the University of Toronto.

Here I am giving answers to the questions.

1) What is Archetypal of Criticism? What does the Archetypal Critic do?

Archetypal literary criticism is a type of analytical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths and archetypes in the narrative, symbols, images, and character types in literary works. Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, that a text's meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths.

2) What is Frye trying to prove by giving an analogy of 'Physics to Nature' and 'Criticism to Literature'.

Northp Frye says that all organised body of knowledge can be learn progressively, and Physics is organised knowledge of Nature thus, the students of Physics learn nature but in other hand Literature can not teach but the criticism of literature can be teach to prove that Frye giving an analogy physics to nature and criticism to literature. 

3) Share your views of criticism as an organised body of knowledge. Mention relation of literature with history and philosophy.

Here in this literature is the division of humanities. These two parts in divided humanities first is history and second is philosophy. In two parts according to the events and ideas. Then criticism would be to art what philosophy is to wisdom and history to action.

4) Briefly explain inductive method with illustration of Shakespeare's Hamlet's Grave Digger's scene.

Inductive method is using particular facts and from particular to general.Shakespeare's "Hamlet" grave digger scene is best example of inductive method. In this scene we can see that the grave digger was not affected by the death of others because of their routine work. They enjoy your work. 

5) Briefly explain deductive method with reference to analogy to music, painting, rhythm and pattern. 

Defective method using general to particular. Some arts move in time, like music and others are presented in space, like painting. In both cases the organising principle is recurrence, which is called rhythm when it is temporal and pattern when it is spatial. Thus we speak of the rhythm of music and the pattern of painting; but later, to show off our sophistication, we may begin to speak of the rhythm of painting and the pattern of music. 

6) Refer to the Indian seasonal grid (below). If you can, please read small Gujarati or Hindi or English poem from the archetypal approach and apply Indian seasonal grid in the interpretation.

Here I found one Gujarati poem, the entire poem of the winter season. This  poem tries to explain the atmosphere of the Indian winter. In winter people also want to sleep for a long time in the morning. The poem is as below.

સવાર થાય,

જાગવામાં વાર પણ થાય,

મીઠેરી ઊંઘ આવે,

ધાબડો દિલદાર પણ થાય,

બળજબરીથી જગાડે,

લલકાર પણ થાય,

ખાપમાં મોં જોઈએ,

ભૂતના દીદાર પણ થાય,

હાથ નાખીએ પાણીમાં,

હાહાકાર પણ થાય,

દાઢી કરવાની પતરી,

તલવાર પણ થાય,

અંગેઅંગમાં ધ્રુજારી,

રક્તકણો ઠાર પણ થાય,

નાહવાના મારગતો,

ખાડાની ધાર પણ થાય,

વસ્ત્ર પરિધાન થતાં સુધી તો,

ઠંડીના કણેકણ આરોપાર પણ થાય,

સ્વેટર, ટોપી બરોબર પહેરી,

ચા પીધા પછી ચમત્કાર પણ થાય!

સવાર થાય,

જાગવામાં વાર પણ થાય!