An anatomy of third world literature : Northrop Frye's theory of modes in a post-colonial context : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University
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Date
1992
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Massey University
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Abstract
Viney Kirpaul ( 1988; pp 144, 145) points out that there is no 'relevant critical
framework' within which to analyse the Third World novel, and so the common
practice is to consider it a version of the nineteenth-century Western novel. Within a
framework based on the first essay of Frye' s Anatomy of Criticism, this thesis argues
that four different modes of Third World fiction must be distinguished, and that within
each mode some forms are episodic (if they develop only a small number of
archetypes) and others encyclopaedic (because of their range of archetypes and
techniques).
Chapter One deals with the theory and scope of the study. The subsequent chapters
analyse twenty episodic and four encyclopaedic works in four different modes, chosen
from Africa, India and the Caribbean. A comprehensive glossary explaining the
critical terms used in the thesis adds more texts as examples, including some from the
South Pacific region.
At the centre of the study are such well-known Third World authors as Ngugi, Raj a
Rao, Lamming, Bhattacluu·ya, Achebe, Naipaul, and Ayi Kwei Armah, while the
glossary adds the works of others, including Narayan, S oyinka, Derek Walcott, Albert
Wendt and Witi Ihimaera.
Description
Irregular pagination: missing pages 54, 114
Keywords
Caribbean fiction (English), Commonwealth fiction (English), English fiction, Indic fiction (English), West African fiction (English), History and criticism, Developing countries in literature