prose. The rhythm of prose is that of continuity of meaning. Drama lies halfway between epos and fiction, or more accurately, its diction must fit the setting and the character. Some characters may be melos-oriented, speaking in meter or with various rhetorical effects in song and banter. Others may be opsis-oriented, speaking more in prose and conveying ideological content. Most characters alternate according to the dramatic situation. Such a marriage of the appropriate language with the character and setting (ethos) defines a rhythm of decorum, the distinctive rhythm of drama. Classical lyrical poetry often presents a shepherd speaking of his love; he is overheard by his audience. However, the distinctiveness of lyric comes more from its peculiar rhythm than from this radical of representation. Frye describes this rhythm as associative rather than logical and is the stuff of dreams and the subconscious. It is closely related to the chant, and though it is found in all literature, it is more apparent in certain kinds of literature than others. At this point Frye suggests a connection between the four historical modes and the four genres. In this sense, the lyrical is typical of the ironic age—just as the ironic protagonist has turned away from society, the lyrical poet makes utterances without regard to the audience. The lyrical rhythm is very clearly seen in Joyce's Finnegans Wake, a work based almost entirely on associative babbles and dream utterance. Miscellaneous The Latin dedication at the beginning, "Helenae Uxori" is to Northrop's wife, Helen. Bergson's Laughter may provide a complementary view on comedy. The book evolved out of an introduction to Spenser's The Faerie Queene: "the introduction to Spenser became an introduction to the theory of allegory" Frye allowed (p. vii). See also Archetypal literary criticism - larger genre of criticism to which the "Archetypal Criticism: A Theory of Myths" essay belongs. Green World - a concept introduced in the "Archetypal Criticism: A Theory of Myths" essay but not specifically covered in this article. Notes References Northrop Frye, Herman. Anatomy of Criticism. New Jersey: Princeton U. Press, 1957. Hamilton, A. C. Northrop Frye: Anatomy of his Criticism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,1990. External links Full text, available in Daisy format for the disabled (requires Library of Congress key), at Internet Archive 1957 non-fiction books Books by Northrop Frye Stage theories Literary criticism Rhetoric Princeton University Press books Canadian non-fiction books