Cheap Fearful Symmetry (Book) (Northrop Frye) Price

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Customer Reviews of Fearful Symmetry

Brilliant and profound
I recently re-read a number of my book on Blake--I made a serious study of him as a philosophy student in graduate school--and discovered again how most of them, good as they are, pale next to Northrop Frye's masterful work. If you want to understand Blake's thought, this is the book to read. It is serious and challenging, but always readable. I can't think of another book I've read that packs more insights into every page.

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Judging the book by its cover . . .
One disadvantage of browsing online bookstores is that you can't simply skim the cover blurbs; sometimes you just have to settle for the opinions of strangers like me. So it may be helpful to read the quotes on the back cover of my copy of 'Fearful Symmetry.'

"To say it is a magnificent, extraordinary book is to praise it as it should be praised, but in doing so one gives little idea of the huge scope of the book and of its fiery understanding . Several great poets have written of Blake, but this book, I believe, is the first to show the full magnitude of Blake's mind, its vast creative thought." -- Edith Sitwell, 'The Spectator'

"According as we agree or disagree with Mr. Frye's contention we shall decide finally on the supremacy of his book. In following the structure of Blake's total vision and relating it to the thought of his age he has triumphantly carried out a task which, given the giant shape of the material, cannot help being immense. His cadences, by sheer explanatory devotion, approach the sonorities of Blake's own." -- 'Times Literary Supplement'

"Frye conducts his ambitious study with unflagging energy, great enthusiasm, and immense erudition." -- 'Poetry'

"An intelligent and beautifully written critical interpretation of the poetry and symbolic thought of William Blake..." -- 'New Yorker'

My opinion: Northrop Frye's literary criticism manages to shift the ground underfoot in the same rare way Blake's poetry does. Frye was the first to crack Blake's code, remove from him the labels of Mystic and Nutcase, and reveal him as a poet who systematically recreates the world. Frye taught Blake to Jesuits, Communist organizers, deans of women, and angry young poets. He was continually pleased to encounter doctors, housewives, clergymen, teachers, blue-collar workers, and shopkeepers, all with a great and deep appreciation of Blake.

Frye's deep appreciation and admiration for Blake comes through on every page, six times over. I reread this book about every five years, each time coming away seeing the world upside down, inside out, and worth renovating.

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Not a book for the politically correct
Northrop Frye, one of the critical giants of the last century, provides an enlightening portrait of the enigmatic William Blake. Frye, as always, has the courage to explore the large questions, such as the artist's relationship to God. Blake's life as an artist becomes a metaphor for all artistic creation. Frye does not feel obligated, in his fiction or non-fiction, to pay mind to such fads as "erotic energy," "the representations of power in depictions of the female form," or any such politically correct absurdities. Frye is a traditional writer for traditionalist readers who are concerned with the questions and issues that have been central to the study of literature for as long as there has been literature. Those who seek more prattle about topical critical theories that are so popular with college boys and girls today should look elsewhere. Frye continues to be read because he resits trends and remains timeless.