Fearful Symmetry (Paperback)

by Northrop Frye (Author) "This book offers an explanation of Blake's thought and a commentary on his poetry..." (more)
Key Phrases: larger human body, cloven fiction, cyclic vision, Word of God, Paradise Lost, Spectre of Urthona (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A magnificent, extraordinary book. . . . Several great poets have written of Blake, but this book is the first to show the full magnitude of Blake's mind. -- Review

Review
A magnificent, extraordinary book. . . . Several great poets have written of Blake, but this book is the first to show the full magnitude of Blake's mind.
(The Spectator )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (April 1, 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691012911
• ISBN-13: 978-0691012919
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #204,643 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Judging the book by its cover . . ., July 9, 2001

By A Customer

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.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best exposition of Blake, April 2, 2000

By A Customer

Blake sets us in the middle of a rich mythological structure. This is the best book for explaining what that structure is and how Blake will come to an element and illuminate sometimes inconsistent characteristics of that element if viewed in a limited selection. And yet when Blake's work is examined as a whole an encompassing structure is revealed where each part has been carefully delineated and accurately described throughout. Since Blake's collected works are rather massive it is very helpful to have an overview of Blake's view of man when examining how any one particular image is dealt with in a poem. Else, one might think that Blake's portrayals are incongruent from poem to poem, while his vision is actually quite cohesive. Frye wrote another excellent essay on Blake, the title has something to do with the Fourfold Key. It shows the structural similarity between Blake, Marx and Freud.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars searchlight, October 7, 2008

By	Mark A. Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.