Northrop Frye and the phenomenology of myth / Glen Robert Gill.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

With excursions into fields such as literary theory, depth psychology, theology, and anthropology, Northrop Frye and the Phenomenology of Myth is essential to the understanding of Frye's important mythological work.

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CHOICE Review

Although this book reflects impressive scholarship on complex issues, its thesis is relatively simple. Gill (Troy Univ.) attempts to demonstrate the superiority of Frye's theories of myth to those of Mercia Eliade, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell on phenomenological grounds. That is, whereas the other three "second generation mythographers" employ a tripartite system that subordinates human beings to some form of transcendent reality, Frye includes a "visionary fourth" that unifies the three through the central phenomenological insight--i.e., "nothing exists until it is apprehended by consciousness in perception." No transcendence exists beyond the human; transcendence exists only through the kind of cleansed, visionary perception central to Blake's view of art and its role in human salvation. Along the way, Gill has many interesting things to say about myth and phenomenology, and about Eliade, Jung, Campbell, and Frye. One caveat: in many ways the book is a double hagiography, sanctifying both Frye and Blake. Gill goes beyond admiration of Frye as major critic and Blake as fascinating artist; he sees both as spiritual teachers, wise men who see the truth. Valuable as this book is--especially for scholars of myth and Blake--this lack of critical objectivity could be a problem for less-experienced readers. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty. S. F. Klepetar St. Cloud State University