Vivisection: Anatomical Structure and the Satire of Vanity.

Abstract

<p>I begin this thesis with an examination of the notion of literary structure that Northrop Frye develops through various writings. I relate this to other of his concerns: to the idea of a "center" to the order of literature, and to the possibility of "scientific" or systematic criticism. In the second chapter I place this notion in the context of more general ideas about structure, and raise the issue of the relation of function to structure. I suggest that the ideas of function that orient ideas of structure may be divided into kinds in a way analogous to the way that kinds of causes have traditionally been distinguished. In the third chapter I undertake a consideration of geme, beginning with a brief summary of the approaches and problems associated with the concept. I move on to an account of Frye's theory of gemes and then present his outline of Menippean satire, or the "anatomy" form of prose fiction (with reference to his discussion of the mythos of winter, which describes the principles of satire and irony). An overview of other critical attitudes to the form ends the chapter. In the fourth chapter I present a comparative reading of the "anatomical" works in an effort to discover a partial line of influence and descent, and to determine a abstract common structure, use of which might be considered part of the formal cause of each of the works. Starting from given critical insights, I develop a view of the anatomy as presenting an existential quest, and examine how the theme is associated with certain common formal techniques and patterns of imagery. In the concluding chapter, I analyze further the pattern I have presented, and suggest that developing genre theory requires refining our understanding of the interaction of literary intention with literary structure.</p>