The Great Code: The Bible and LiteratureConsidered by many to be Northrop Frye's magnum opus, The Great Code (1982) reflects a lifetime of thinking about the patterns and meanings of the Bible. In this new edition of The Great Code, Alvin A. Lee presents a corrected and fully annotated version of Frye's text, as well as a comprehensive introduction to help contextualize this important work and guide readers through its allusive passages. Lee's introduction provides a synoptic account of the role of the Bible in Frye's intellectual and spiritual odyssey, as well as a description of how The Great Code as a book came into existence, and an introductory critique of the shape and meaning of the book's argument. The Great Code is culturally allusive to a high degree. It takes much of its inspiration from the Bible itself, including a profusion of biblical passages, but also from the author's extensive reading of a host of other texts from ancient times until the late twentieth century. Lee's extensive annotation illustrates, beyond question, that Frye's knowledge of the Bible and how it has worked in Western culture was at once profound and visionary. This new edition not only re-presents Frye's text in a clear, correct, and fully annotated form, it goes a long way in helping us understand the widespread scholarly and popular reception that met this extraordinary and in some ways revolutionary book and how it can still be richly rewarding for readers. |
From inside the book
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... true " if it seems to provide a satisfactory correspondence to it . The criterion of truth is related to the external source of the description rather than to the inner consistency of the argument . Its controlling figure , then , is a ...
... true is what the writer thinks ought to be true ; and the sense of urgency in the writing comes out much more freely for not being hampered by the clutter of what may actually have occurred . The general principle involved here is that ...
... true , and what belongs to myth and literature is false or imaginary . These sagas tell us that the Norsemen were attacked by natives with catapults or ballistae . Scholars say that the Algonquins , at least , are known to have used ...
Contents
Contents | vii |
Abbreviations | xiii |
Editors Introduction | 10 |
Copyright | |
11 other sections not shown