The twenty- first century world s vision incorporates the ideals of holism,

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1 The twenty- first century world s vision incorporates the ideals of holism, pluralism and universalism. We are experiencing the major societal transformation from the industrial machine age to the post-industrial information knowledge age. These changes and transformations are re-shaping our thinking and recasting the way we view ourselves, the systems of which we are a part, the environment in which we live and the way we view the world. Literary criticism is a stream of literature which Northrop Frye believes endeavours to construct a systematic branch of knowledge, deals with the study, interpretation, judgment and evaluation of literary works. Literary criticism which started at an early stage as an activity simultaneous with and dependent on a literary creation has traversed a long way since the time of Plato. Literary theory is a mode or a philosophy of the interpretation of literature. Way back in the nineteenth century, Matthew Arnold through his definition of literary criticism that a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is thought and known in the world asserted the importance of intellectual freedom for critical understanding. Free play of the mind, curiosity and disinterestedness even today are the guiding principles for analysis, interpretation and evaluation. Literary Criticism and theory are interpretive tools that help us to think more deeply and meaningfully about literature we read. Literary criticism, according to Rene Wellek, if not precisely a science is a species of knowledge or of learning. 1 The word theory is derived from its Greek root theoria (Jerome) which means contemplation, and speculation, a looking at and is linked to theoria (to consider, 1 Welleck, Rene. Literature and Literary Study, Theory of Literature (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd) 15. Print. 1

2 speculate). Theory thus suggests several things at once. By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the theories that reveal what literature can mean. It is literary theory that formulates the relationship between an author and the work; it develops the significance of race, class and gender for literary study. Literary theory today sometimes designated critical theory or theory and now undergoing a transformation into cultural theory. The practice of literary theory has become more institutionalized and professional since the latter half of the twentieth century but it has historical roots that run as far back as ancient Greece and the aesthetic theories of the philosophers from ancient times. It is important to note that academic literary criticism prior to the rise of New Criticism in the United States tended to practice traditional literary history, tracking influence, establishing the canon of major writers in the literary periods and clarifying historical context and allusions within the text. Thus literary studies took an entirely new direction in the early twentieth century. Today, the study of literature has become very vast, abounding in several approaches viz., New Criticism, Structuralism, Historical, Psychological, Archetypal, Feminism, Postmodernism and Post Colonialism etc. A glance at the changing world scenario reveals that we have embarked on a voyage into novel realms of thought and experience. We witness a transition from the Modernist values to the Postmodernist values, where we have to deal with emergent forms of culture, global economy, new form of politics and identify. Martin Irvin views that Postmodernism has given birth to the phenomenon of a global village, resulting in the globalization of cultures, races, images, capital and products on the information age. It is characterized by the dissemination of 2

3 images and information across national boundaries, a sense of erosion of national linguistics, ethnic and cultural barriers and a sense of a global mixing of cultures. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that interdisciplinary connections have helped immensely in providing new interpretation of old texts, in developing and redefining various literary terms and presenting them from a new perspective. The proposed study is a humble attempt to re-locate, re-define and re- assess the Theories of Modes and Symbols propounded by Northrop Frye in the light of Indian Poetics with special reference to Bharatamuni s Rasa theory and Anandavardhana s Dhvani theory. Bharatamuni, Anandavardhana and Northrop Frye are the three stalwarts,representing different nations, cultures and ages. The proposed study would draw a comparative paradigm to map out parallels and contrasts and finally bring out some illuminating universals of literary study. In the proposed study Northrop Frye s Theory of Modes which he labels as Historical Criticism will be juxtaposed to Bharatamuni s Rasa theory; and further his Theory of Symbols will be placed parallel to Anandavardhana s Dhvani theory to analyze the contribution of each theorist and critic in widening the scope of literary study. It also attempts to establish the modernity or rather Post modernity of Anandavardhana and Bharatamuni whose contribution to Indian Aesthetics has certainly been immense but their contribution to world literature is something which needs greater attention. Comparative study is the way of transcending the boundaries of time and space. As Ama Saitta says a modern science which centers on research into the problems 3

4 connected with the influences exercised reciprocally by various literatures 2. It is helpful in illuminating universals of literature and inducing global literary consciousness. The time has come when we should leave the age-old habit of separating literature on the basis of language and nation. If we try to find out for ourselves a universally acceptable system of criticism, comparative study can be of great importance to achieve this objective. It provides the reader an opportunity to develop international outlook and leads to healthy cross fertilization of ideas. If In the Eastern Poetics Bharatamuni and Anandavardhana occupy a unique place, in the Western literary studies, Herman Norrie Northrop Frye is one of the most influential and towering critics. Bharatamuni is the starting point of Indian dramaturgy and perhaps the point of its culmination. His Natyasastra laid the foundation of a theory which has been adhered to by many theorists as well as artists for more than two thousand years. The tradition of Indian poetics is very vast and rich as it takes into its strides all the aspects of human knowledge. However, it is quite difficult to pen down chronologically the Indian tradition. Bharatamuni s creation Natyasastra is an encyclopedia of the forms of fine arts like dance, drama and music. The word Natya has often been translated as drama. Spectators of superior order did not, however, stop at the popular appreciation of plays. They were curious to find out the underlying process which is responsible for their enjoyment. In the light of their valuable discussions, the theory may be called as theory of sentiments or rasa. 2 Welleck, Rene. Discrimations, Further Concepts of Criticism (London: Yale University Press) 12. Print. 4

5 One should not confuse between the two terms rasa and bhava, as bhava is the experience and rasa is the expression. Rasa is created when the bhava is determined by the mind which is guided by the glance which follows the hasta(hand) movement. Precisely, rasa refers to the personal experience of emotions by the character concerned and the dancers or the artist s bhava conveyed to the spectators or the audience, the rasa or the emotion which the particular character experience as per long as theme. It is a sort of communication by the dancer without herself going through the emotions. But the bhava is so brought out that it transports the spectator to the scene depicted in the song and the spectator is able to vibrate in the same wavelength as the character portrayed. All forms of art, be it music, painting, poetry or dance exhibit rasa. Without rasa, natya-nritya has no meaning. Rasa is produced by a combination of vibhava, anubhava and sancharibhava 3. Bharata stipulates three necessary conditions which must be present together for an emotion to be manifested: (i) which generates the emotion, called vibhava which includes (a) the object to which emotion is directed, i.e., the intentional object (alambhana vibhava), e.g. Juliet; (b) the causes and circumstances which excite the emotion (uddipana vibhava), e.g. youth, privacy, moonlight; (ii) the overt expressions (actions and gestures) which exhibit the emotion, called anubhava, e.g. tears, laughter, etc; (iii) other ancillary feelings such as depression, elevation, agitation, which normally accompany that emotion. He further classified it into the sthayibhava and sancharibhava. There are basically nine types of rasa as per 3 Welleck, Rene. Discrimations, Further Concepts of Criticism (London: Yale University Press) 90. Print. 5

6 Bharatamuni which are: - Sringara, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Veera, Bhayanaka, Bheebhasta, Adbhuta and Shanta. Indian Poetics is rich with its theories of Rasa and Dhvani. The basic text of the doctrine of suggestion is Anandavardhana s Dhvanyaloka in the East. According to Anandavardhana s theory, the words can convey also a suggested meaning in addition to their conventional primary meaning. In the domain of poetry, the suggested meaning occurs in three forms, viz., vastumarta (mere matter of fact), alamkara (figure of speech) and rasadi (rasa and other mental states). A composition where a suggested sense predominates is called dhvani. The Dhvanyaloka is divided into four chapters, called uddyotas. But it can also be seen as divided into two major portions, viz., the karikas, and a running vrtti on it. The vrtti consists of prose explanation of the karikas, illustrative verses and some more verses which are not numbered like the karikas nor explained by the prose vrtti, nor meant for illustration but for summarization of the deliberations of the vrtti or for supplementing the view expressed in a karika. Anandavardhana duly endeavors to classify dhvani into many varieties and sub varieties. Dhvani is basically divided into two kinds (i) Avivaksitavacya dhvani and (ii) the Vivaksitanyaparavacya dhvani. In the former, the primary sense is not desired to be expressed at all, on the contrary it is totally discarded and secondary sense (laksyartha) comes into our mind and, consequently, a suggested sense emerges. While in the latter, the primary sense is not desirable and suggests any one of the three types of suggested sense i.e. vastu, alamkara and rasadi by virtue of being different from the 6

7 ordinary statement of fact. Its varieties and sub- varieties can be better explained with the chart as follows: 7

8 Dhvani Avivaksita vacya Vivaksitanayapara vacya Jahatalaksana Ajahatalaksana Asamlaksayakrama vyangya Samlaksayakrama vyangya Vastu dhavni Alamkara dhavni Kavipraudha vaktimatra Svatasambhavi Sabdasakti mula arthasakti mula Ubhayasakti mula Anandavardhana calls himself a sahrdaya in the concluding paragraph of Uddyota- IV of the Dhvanyaloka. Sahrdaya as a concept brings out the essential characteristics of a refined critic and a responsive reader. Sahrdayaloka was one of the proposed titles for Anandavardhana s Dhvanyaloka. Sahrdyaloka, means carrying the meaning of light of suggestion for the benefit of sahrdayas. 4 The most widely used term 4 Krishnamoorthy, K. Introduction, Dhvanyaloka of Anandavardhana (New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1974) xxii. Print. 8

9 in Sanskrit for the responsive reader in sahrdaya. The importance which is given to the reader in Indian poetics has not been given anywhere else. The poet, having composed a poem by the divine inspiration and creative talent, might feel relieved once his composition is complete. Northrop Frye ( ), is one of the most influential and schematic thinkers and critics who cherished a very lofty conception of literature i. e. of World Literature. Northrop Frye was one of the most successful critics of Canada who propounded innovative theories in a morphological or taxonomical mode that is currently out of vogue. Frye became popular for his deep understanding of literature, morphological and biblical narrative, symbol, ritual and archetypal literary criticism. Northrop Frye born in Sherbroke, Quebec, he did his B.A in philosophy and English from the University of Toronto. He also studied at Emmanuel College where he was ordained as a United Church Minister in He worked as Lecturer in English at Victoria College and earned his M.A degree from Merton College, Oxford in He became Professor of English in 1948, Head of Department in 1952, Principal in 1959 and Chancellor in Frye held many visiting professorship and major international scholarships and served as President of the M.L.A in 1976, besides other prestigious appointments. Frye gained attention from the world by his Fearful Symmetry : A Study of William Blake (1947); Frye called his Fearful Symmetry as an important step in the art of reading poetry and writing criticism: if poetic thought is inherently schematic, criticism must be so too. I began to 9

10 notice that as soon as a critic confined himself to talking seriously about literature, his criticism tightened up and took on a systematic, even a schematic form. 5 Frye s work and thought are traced back to Biblical text and his study of Blake and also through his theological education and teaching. Like Blake, Frye understands the imagination as both- a creative and perspective faculty. After reading Blake s poetry, he came across with the schema that according to him is applied to all literatures. Frye is unlike the erstwhile reader of Blake as he perceived a unified corpus in Blake s poetry, applying an allegorical method which is inherent in all the poems. His famous series of academic books are: - A Natural Perspective: The Development of Shakesperian Comedy and Romance (1965) and Fools of Time: Studies in Shakesperian Tragedy (1967), On Milton in the Room of Eden: Five Essays on Milton s Epics (1965), his works on Romance (1976), and Canadian literature, published as the Bush Garden: Essay on The Canadian Imagination (1971). After all these life time achievements, his best work come out in 1982, The Great Code: Bible and Literature. Frye s Anatomy of Criticism projects on the normal nature of literature, role of literature in society, and the ethical ends of art and the social function of criticism. His lasting reputation rests principally on the theory of literary criticism that he developed in Anatomy of Criticism (1957), one of the most important works of literary theory published in the twentieth century. While writing Anatomy of Criticism, Frye perceived coherence and unity. He preferred a centered schema. Frye s first essay of his book, Historical Criticism: A Theory of Modes, declares that there are five modes of literature: Myth, Romance, High Mimetic, Low Mimetic and Irony. From past to the 5 Lane, Richard J. Fifth Key Literary Theorists (Routletge: New York and London, 2006) 111. Print. 10

11 present, narrative has moved through these modes to our current time and place of irony. In the second section, Ethical Criticism: Theory of Symbols, Frye argues that there are four fundamental types of Symbols: Sign (motif), Image, Archetype and Monad. In the third, longest and most popular section, Archetypal Criticism: Theory of Myths, Frye developed a core theory of criticism i.e. Theory of Myths. Myths become a method, a source from where we get material for literature. The narrative form of romance, comedy, tragedy and satire/ irony are examined in crucial manner. The final section, Rhetorical Criticism: Theory of Genres brings into play the relational aspects of literature between poet and public: the rhetorical presentation or performance of four genres: drama, epos, fiction and lyric. Frye was influenced by Spengler, while writing Theory of Modes. He acknowledges that Splenger provided the basis for the conception of modes. It is the Splenger s conception of organic cultural growth and aging that influenced him a lot rather than his cyclic view. Frye defines the modes in terms of the ethical elements, or ethos, of literary works. It refers to the relationship on the one hand, between a hero and his society, and on the other hand between a writer and his audience. Focusing attention on the total body of literature, he finds that it is classifiable into two kinds: Fictional and Thematic. Fictional mode is that which has a predominantly narrative interest, whether in prose or verse, in dramatic and non- dramatic form for example epics, dramas and novels. And Thematic Mode is that which has a thematic interest irrespective of its form and genre, for instance, allegory, satire and lyric. Frye s Theory of Modes has a historical thrust. He wrote about T.S Eliot, W.B Yeats and Plato who influenced him profoundly in order to have his own historical 11

12 criticism. Frye s own historical criticism, his Theory of Modes is rooted in the principle of cultural ageing across time. The changes that occur in literature are partly related to contemporary history and partly to some earlier literary modes. Frye s five modes go round in circle. According to Frye, a mode is a conventional power of action assumed about the chief characters in Fictional literature, or the corresponding attitude by the poet towards his audience in thematic literature. 6 Frye s Theory of Symbols reveals the concept of symbol which is very wide. Wheelright s definition that symbols are more in intention that they are in existence 7 suggests that they have vast and variety of meanings. Interestingly Swiatecka calls it a chameleon. 8 Although the history of the term symbol as Rene Wellek suggests, has not been traced even in Max Schlesinger s Geschichte des Symbols 9 (1912), different authors have tried to interpret it in different ways. Robert D. Denham observes, Frye s work represents one of the most impressive achievements in the recent history of criticism. 10 He appreciates his theory and says that his theory can be applied to good advantage in interpreting literature. A number of critics have found his general approach, his special category and his method of criticism genuinely useful. 11 Whenever we read anything, our attention moves in two directions, one is outward and another one is inward. To make the reader understand the difference between the two, he gave the example of the verbal symbol cat. The verbal symbol 6 Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976) 366. Print. 7 Swiatecka, M.Jadwiga. The Idea of Symbolism (London: Cambridge University Press, 1980) 10.Print. 8 Ibid.11. Print. 9 Wellek, Rene. Discrimations: Further Concepts of Criticism (India: Vikas Publications, 1970) 90. Print. 10 Denham, Robert D. ed. Northrop Frye on Culture and Literature: A Collection of Review Essays (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987 ) 51. Print. 11 Ibid 53. Print. 12

13 cat is a group of black marks on a page representing a sequence of noises, image representing of a memory or representing a sense experience- representing an animal that says meow. 12 He defines signs as verbal units which conventionally and arbitrary, stand for and point to things outside the place where they occur. 13 But when the reader tries to grasp the context of the words, the word cat becomes an element in the larger body of meaning. 14 Frye further adds that these two modes of understanding takes place simultaneously in all reading: it is impossible to read the word cat in a context without some representational flash of animal so named; it is impossible to see the bare sign cat without wondering what context it belongs to, 15 argues Frye. The classification of the verbal structure can be done seeing the final direction of meaning. If it is pointing outward then the writing is assertive or descriptive. And in all literary verbal structure the final direction of meaning is inward. It should be noted that both kinds of symbols are present in every kind of writing. Neither aspect can be eliminated. But verbal structures can be classified according to whether the final direction of meaning whether outward or inward. In literature, the reality principle is subordinated to the motif. In assertive writing the reality principle is given priority. Thus as the reality principle is related to the descriptive aspect of symbolism, the sign overrules, i.e., when the sign represents things; it is valued in terms of accuracy with which it represents them. 12 Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976) 73. Print. 13 Ibid 73. Print. 14 Ibid 73. Print. 15 Ibid 74. Print. 13

14 Though the writers of the formal phase are in contact with reality and follow nature, yet the effect they produce is quite different from the descriptive realism of the nineteenth century. The difference lies in the conception of imitation involved. In the formal imitation, the work of art exists between the example and the percept. Events and ideas are now aspects of its content, not external fields of observation. Therefore, when the formal critic deals with symbols, he isolates those units which show an analogy of proportion between the poem and the nature which it imitates. The mythical phase is the treatment of a symbol as an archetype. This concept relates most closely with intersexuality and considers the symbol in a work as interconnected with similar symbolism throughout the entire body of literature. While Frye deals with myths and archetypes from a broader perspective in the third essay, in this section he focuses on the critical method of tracing a symbol's heritage through literary works both prior and subsequent to the work in question. In criticism, the study of the archetypal phase of a symbol is akin to the "nature" perspective in the psychological debate over nature verse nurture. Rather than viewing the symbol as a unique achievement of the author or some inherent quality of the text, the archetypal phase situates the symbol in its society of literary kindred as a product of its conventional forebears. Finally, Frye proposes an anagogic phase wherein a symbol is treated as a monad. The anagogic level of medieval allegory is treated a text as expressing the highest spiritual meaning. For example, Dante's Beatrice in the Divine Comedy would represent the bride of Christ. Monad the form of literature is influenced by the 14

15 anagogic phase. The formal classification that is based on the centrifugal movement includes scripture, classical mythology and the epics of Dante and Milton. The form of literature most deeply influenced by the anagogic phase is the scripture or apocalyptic revelation. The god whether traditional deity, glorified hero, or apotheosized poet, is the central image that poetry uses in trying to convey the sense of unlimited power in a humanized form. Many of these scriptures are documents of religion as well, and hence are a mixture of imaginative and the existential. Such a comparison of the Eastern and the Western literary criticism becomes very relevant. It promises to result in the widening of perspective and safeguard literary criticism from becoming local and provincial. Along with this, it also helps in widening the horizon of literature by bringing out the universals of literary criticism. The proposed study is an endeavour to generate a wide theoretical paradigm to illuminate certain conceptual parallels and differences in the theories of Modes and Symbols of Northrop Frye, Rasa theory of Bharatamuni, and Dhvani theory of Anandavardhana with the noble objective of bringing to fore the universals of literary criticism and literary study. In the present context, the future of comparative literature is bright since it creates awareness for the social justification of literature. Multi- ethnic studies linked with comparative literature will be a significant factor in inter- national relations. Therefore, the objectives of the proposed study would be: (i) To analyze the various dimensions of comparative studies in the twenty-first century. 15

16 (ii) To trace historical perspective of Indian and Western Poetics with special reference to the undertaken critics. (iii) To study and evaluate Northrop Frye s Theory of Modes and its applicability in literary study. (iv) (v) To analyze Frye s Theory of Symbols its various aspects and its applicability. To analyze, contextualize Frye s Theory of Modes, and Theory of Symbols within Indian theoretical apparatus and bring to light the universality and relevance of Ancient Indian Poetics in the twenty first century. Keeping in view the above objectives, the chapter scheme of the thesis would be as follows: (i) (ii) Chapter I Literary theory: A Historical Perspective. Chapter II -- Conceptual Framework for Literary Hermeneutics: Frye s Theory of Modes. (iii) (iv) (v) Chapter III -- From Casual to the Causal: Frye s Theory of Symbols. Chapter IV Indian Poetics: An Introduction and Various Dimensions. Chapter V Frye s theories of modes and symbols: An Analysis from Indian Perspective. (vi) Chapter VI -- Conclusion. 16