The Illustrated Northrop Frye

This five-part application of Northrop Frye's theory of archetypal criticism to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick examines Melville's masterpiece as an encyclopedic romance.

Following Ishmael's descent into and return from a demonic sea world of experience, Moby-Dick exhibits the U-shaped pattern of development typical of romance.

Melville broadens and deepens the thematic and formal complexity of his romance through the encyclopedic use of archetypes, particularly those of satire and tragedy.

As Ahab pursues his tragic quest for the great White Whale, Ishmael embarks on an often-satiric inner quest for meaning in his universe. Which, as this inner quest turns out, appears to be the only reason Ishmael survives while Ahab and the rest of the crew don't.

The five chapters that make up The Illustrated Northrop Frye are, Chapter 1: The Dragon Quest; Chapter 2: Descent to a Lower World; Chapter 3: The Tearing Apart of “Reality”; Chapter 4: The Death Struggle; and Chapter 5: Ishmael’s Ascent.