Frye's Cycles & Seasons

Frye's theory of cycles & seasons was very interesting to me.  As a writer, I love learning about archetypes, so his ideas really hit home.

Frye discovered a pattern that developed among several works of literature.  Writers were using (and continue to use) different seasons for certain things.  Spring was for comedy, summer was for romance, fall was for tragedy, and winter was for irony/satire.

Robert D. Denham, Ph.D., worded Frye's ideas wonderfully.  Denham received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and then proceeded to teach for over thirty-eight years.  He has devoted the majority of his professional life to Northrom Frye criticism.  Denham's professional blog has a ton of Northrop Frye information.  He has also published several books based on Frye's ideas.  Below is a screenshot of his blog which will link you to the exact post that I used while researching Frye.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are interested in Frye.

Below is an excerpt from Denham's blog in which he explains Frye's idea of seasons/cycles.  It is followed by a diagram that he created himself.  

"Frye’s method of argument at this point is based upon the similarities of “movement” between the seven categories of reality and the cyclical and dialectical processes of archetypes. Cyclically, the analogy produces four mythoi: comedy, romance, tragedy, and irony or satire (this latter also called “realism”). Dialectically, it produces an upward and downward movement between innocence and experience, apocalypse and nature, the ideal and the actual, the comic and the tragic."  Robert D. Denham 

The following diagram was created to represent these ideas:

I will try to break Frye's ideas down even further below.  I will using what I learned from reading EdWeb's breakdown of Northrop Frye. 

Spring: Comedy
Fyre uses "comedy" in the traditional sense of the word.  He does not mean that funny things happen in the spring.  He means that the hero starts at a low point and ascends.

Summer: Romance
During the summertime, the protagonist goes on minor adventures and sometimes finds love.  Occasionally, there will be a ritual death.

Fall: Tragedy
Again, Frye uses "tragedy" not to mean sadness, but instead to mean that the main character descends from the point where the story began.

Winter: Irony/Satire
Frye claimed that the winter was marked by content rather than structure, so it is difficult to give an example of exactly what happens.  However, the content during the wintertime was often ironic or satirical.

EdWeb also has a wonderful printable chart that you might like to look at.  It is a quick activity you can do to help yourself better understand Northrop's theories.  Don't be shocked that I am referencing material from a k-12 website.  Sometimes simplifying a theory is the best way to get a better grasp on them.  I know that reading this website helped me to understand what Frye was trying to say.  Then, I was able to read what Denham, a scholar, had to say about Frye as well.  

Here's a screenshot of the chart.  I thought it was a great way to lay out Frye's ideas without getting too technical:

 

The screenshot will open a .doc file that you can print.  The file has a list of spring/summer/fall/winter characteristics that you write on the chart.  I'm going to print mine on card-stock and keep it with my writing materials, because Frye's ideas are definitely something that I want to explore further.