The Educated Imagination: The Hero as Critic

Perhaps THE work that most Small Fryes begin and end with, as it is Anatomy of Criticism for little critters. It also foreshadows Words with Power. It is the DNA of all his ideas. I will begin with an overview than talk about each chapter briefly and separately. A study guide by Professor Willard exists already on the net; this is to complement that guide. Some teachers complain that EI is too repetitive; Frye does return to the same points but from a higher perspective.

For me EI moves in the 4Ms. Growing from a metaphor into a myth (a metaphor put into motion), then the myth grows into a mythology, then the mythology becomes a social mythology.
Conceptually, Frye moves musically, using his classic technique of the 3 identities (individual, dual, social) which is based on vocal melodies (solo, duet, chorus), taking the *voice* of the writer literally. The essay is built on the quest-romance myth, where the maiden literature (and the Bible) is saved by the hero as critic, using the powers of criticism to slay the dragons of ideology, philistines, bigots, popular culture, public relations and advertising.