[.ca] Northrop Frye on Shakespeare (ISBN 0889024413)

An excellent guide to Shakespeare:
This is the book that opened Shakespeare up to me. In a college Shakespeare class, which I came into with a strong anti-Shakespeare bias, I found myself confused with the language, bored and indifferent with the stories and frustrated. So, I went out and picked up this book (I had read Frye's the Archetypes of Literature) and it immediately changed my outlook on the old bard. I soon noticed that much of what my professor was lecturing in class was taken from Frye's work. I had discovered the secret. This is a very readable, interesting and witty look into many of the Shakespearean plays. Frye is quite unusual for a literary critic, he's fun to read.

Two Words: "Green World":
This book is excellent. Only two words are needed to explain its incredible value: "Green World"! Nothing more needs to be said.

Not Your Typical Frye:
Frye's essays on Shakespeare are distinguished by their accessibility. In "The Anatomy of Criticism" and "Fearful Symmetry" as well as other, more scholarly work, Frye demonstrates his profound insights into literature generally in the former and Blake's work in the latter. In both works, the reader is expected to have significant background in literary studies. "Northrop Frye on Shakespeare" is targeted for the general reader. Frye's commentary helps any reader understand the Bard, but it does so in a more accessible style than any other work I have read by Frye. Ideally suited for the high school student or the college undergraduate, Frye's essays provide excellent entry points into many of Shakespeare's plays for the student who wishes to delve further into these essential works. Not exhaustive like Bloom's "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human," or scholarly and advanced like Cavell's "Disowning Knowledge," Frye's work invites the reader to ponder some key points and formulate her own ideas. This collection of essays complements the other works mentioned in this review. As an introductory set of essays on Shakespeare, it is without peer.

An enlightening look at Shakespeare's plays.:
Frye expertly reviews and comments on over half-a-dozen of the Bard's best works. The only problem with the book is that he doesn't look at more of Shakespeare's works!