Traditions and Convergences of Archetypal Criticism: Jung's and Frye's Articulation and Application of the Concept of ‘Archetype’

Abstract

The concept of archetypes and archetypal literary criticism are frequent topics in Western criticism, developed on the basis of the concept of 'archetype,' which originated in the Cambridge School of the United Kingdom at the beginning of the twentieth century and reached its peak in North America in the fifties and sixties. The Canadian scholar Northrop Frye, on the other hand, is recognised as an exponent of this critical theory. Frye's archetypal criticism is particularly influenced by the concept of 'archetype' in Jung's theory of analytical psychology, which is quite consistent in its interpretation of the nature and practical use of the concept of archetypes but inevitably carries with it certain limitations. The discussion explores the similarities and differences in the conceptualisation and use of Frye's and Jung's theories of ‘archetypes’ and to comment on the achievements of archetypal theory in both.