Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake
The landmark book that situates Blake’s poetry within the intellectual movements of his day and unlocks his symbolism for modern readers

Since it was first published, Northrop Frye’s Fearful Symmetry has established itself as the defining commentary on the poetic vision of William Blake. Frye gives a complete solution to the riddles of Blake’s longer poems—the so-called “Prophecies”—and demonstrates how Blake’s works form a coherent mythical pattern that broadens our conception of literature. He explains how Blake arrived at a theory of knowledge that was also, for him, a theory of religion, life, and art, and how this rigorously defined system of ideas found expression in the complicated but consistent symbolism of his poetry. With an incisive foreword by scholar and literary critic Nicholas Halmi, this Princeton Classics edition shows how Blake reflects the literary and the intellectual atmosphere of his time while holding renewed meaning for us today.

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Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake
The landmark book that situates Blake’s poetry within the intellectual movements of his day and unlocks his symbolism for modern readers

Since it was first published, Northrop Frye’s Fearful Symmetry has established itself as the defining commentary on the poetic vision of William Blake. Frye gives a complete solution to the riddles of Blake’s longer poems—the so-called “Prophecies”—and demonstrates how Blake’s works form a coherent mythical pattern that broadens our conception of literature. He explains how Blake arrived at a theory of knowledge that was also, for him, a theory of religion, life, and art, and how this rigorously defined system of ideas found expression in the complicated but consistent symbolism of his poetry. With an incisive foreword by scholar and literary critic Nicholas Halmi, this Princeton Classics edition shows how Blake reflects the literary and the intellectual atmosphere of his time while holding renewed meaning for us today.

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Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake

Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake

Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake

Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake

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Overview

The landmark book that situates Blake’s poetry within the intellectual movements of his day and unlocks his symbolism for modern readers

Since it was first published, Northrop Frye’s Fearful Symmetry has established itself as the defining commentary on the poetic vision of William Blake. Frye gives a complete solution to the riddles of Blake’s longer poems—the so-called “Prophecies”—and demonstrates how Blake’s works form a coherent mythical pattern that broadens our conception of literature. He explains how Blake arrived at a theory of knowledge that was also, for him, a theory of religion, life, and art, and how this rigorously defined system of ideas found expression in the complicated but consistent symbolism of his poetry. With an incisive foreword by scholar and literary critic Nicholas Halmi, this Princeton Classics edition shows how Blake reflects the literary and the intellectual atmosphere of his time while holding renewed meaning for us today.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691278100
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 09/23/2025
Series: Princeton Classics
Pages: 496
Product dimensions: 5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Northrop Frye (1912–1991) was University Professor at the University of Toronto, where he was also professor of English at Victoria College. His books include Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (Princeton). Nicholas Halmi is professor of English and comparative literature at the University of Oxford and the Margaret Candfield Tutorial Fellow in English at University College.

Table of Contents

Illustrationsvii
Editor's Prefaceix
Note on the Citation of Blake's Worksxv
Abbreviationsxix
Introductionxxiii
Frye's Dedication3
Preface to the 1969 Edition5
Part 1The Argument9
Chapter 1The Case against Locke11
Chapter 2The Rising God37
Chapter 3Beyond Good and Evil61
Chapter 4A Literalist of the Imagination90
Chapter 5The World within the Word112
Part 2The Development of the Symbolism149
Chapter 6Tradition and Experiment151
Chapter 7The Thief of Fire189
Chapter 8The Refiner in Fire227
Chapter 9The Nightmare with Her Ninefold266
Part 3The Final Synthesis305
Chapter 10Comus Agonistes307
Chapter 11The City of God347
Chapter 12The Burden of the Valley of Vision392
General Note: Blake's Mysticism415
Notes on the Illustrations417
Editor's Appendix APreface to the Beacon Press Edition419
Editor's Appendix BPreface to the Italian Translation421
Editor's Appendix CFrye's Shorter Writings on Blake423
Notes425
Emendations479
Index483

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“An intelligent and beautifully written critical interpretation of the poetry and symbolic thought of William Blake.”The New Yorker

“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

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