Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake (SIGNED FIRST EDITION)

Frye, Northrop

ISBN 10: 0802089836 / ISBN 13: 9780802089830

Published by Princeton University Press, 1947

About this Item

First Printing in $5.00-priced dust jacket SIGNED by Northrop Frye to verso of front endpaper, dated in month & year of publication and inscribed to John Vickery, a student of Frye's at Victoria College in the 1940s and later the Chairman of the Literature Dept at UC Riverside for many years, the gilt and navy-stamped green cloth boards show light egde wear & darkening to spine & foredge text block, jacket lightly rubbed & soiled with slight edge-creased wear & chipping to spine ends, Vickery's name & college to front endpaper, no other markings, a clean tight excellent signed copy of Frye's first book, quite scarce in first printing & dust jacket and rarely found signed, a unique association copy from arguably the 20th century's most influential literary critic (dj in mylar protector); 8vo; (xiv) 462pp indexed & illus.

Seller Inventory # 30338

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake (SIGNED FIRST EDITION)
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication Date: 1947
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802089836
• ISBN 13: 9780802089830
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author
• Seller catalogs:
  • Mythology / Folklore
  • Poetry
  • Literary Criticism / Theory

About this title

Synopsis

Published in 1947, Fearful Symmetry was Northrop Frye's first book and the product of over a decade of intense labour. Drawing readers into the imaginative world of William Blake, Frye succeeded in making Blake's voice and vision intelligible to the wider public. Distinguished by its range of reference, elegance of expression, comprehensiveness of coverage, coherence of argument, and sympathy to its subject, Fearful Symmetry was immediately recognized as a landmark of Blake criticism. Fifty years later, it is still recognized as having ensured the acceptance of Blake as a canonical poet by permanently dispelling the widespread notion that he was the mad creator of an incomprehensible private symbolism.

For this new edition, the text has been revised and corrected in accordance with the principles of the Collected Works of Northrop Frye series. Frye's original annotation has been supplemented with references to currently standard editions of Blake and others, and many new notes have been provided, identifying quotations, allusions, and cultural references. An introduction by Ian Singer provides biographical and critical context for the book, an overview of its contents, and an account of its reception.

About the Author

Northrop Frye (1912-1991) was one of the twentieth century's most influential English scholars and literary critics. Northrop Frye was a professor in the Department of English at Victoria University in the University of Toronto from 1939 until his death. His works include Words with Power and Anatomy of Criticism.