The Necessary Unity of Opposites: The Dialectical Thinking of Northrop Frye

The Necessary Unity of Opposites is a lively, incisive exploration into a dimension of Northrop Frye's mind and work that has been largely neglected, and that certainly has never been analysed before with this degree of clarity and thoroughness. Brian Russell Graham skilfully recounts the essentials of Frye's thought without distorting or oversimplifying his positions. The Necessary Unity of Opposites is useful both as an introduction to Frye's work and as a study of how one of the twentieth century's major thinkers understood society and politics. Alvin Lee, Professor Emeritus, McMaster University; General Editor of the Collected Works of Northrop Frye

Brian Russell Graham has an excellent command both of Northrop Frye's works and of the secondary material surrounding them. He is therefore able to demonstrate clearly how Frye's dialectical thinking permitted him to move beyond political and social dichotomies of left and right. Additionally, The Necessary Unity of Opposites illustrates why Frye remains relevant to the contemporary horizon of criticism. J. Russell Perkin, Department of English, Saint Mary's University