The Educated Imagination: Chapter 5

The Spectrums Purpose The fifth chapter of The Educated Imagination, “The Verticals of Adam” by Northrop Frye, explains his feelings about the necessity for children to be exposed to some fundamental texts in the literary spectrum in a certain order to best enable them to understand twentieth century society. The understanding of the Christian Bible, and Greek/Roman mythology are said by Frye to be key factors in how a child will interpret future literature. It is noted by Frye that the bible should be taught first, followed by the mythologies of the Greeks/Romans. I agree with his ideas about the order of exposure, as being the foundation of western society as it is best suited to being the foundation for learning of a child from said society. Frye focuses less on the religious aspects of the Bible, and more about how it serves to act as an inspiration for the structure of more modern literature. While gaining knowledge of the stories, it also greatly improves our understanding of the references and allusions present in literature. Additionally, we can also use an understanding of mythology to help further our understanding of both the morals of a hero, and their life cycle. I agree with Frye’s theory, as it has been evident in my own learning that an understanding of those works would give me a greater understanding of the archetypes present in modern literature, especially if learnt in his order. The logic of these ideas is sound, as these forms of literature can easily be used as a base for background knowledge to help our understanding of future texts. Any individual reading literature has surely experienced multiple stories that are either based on or allude to the Bible. Having the Bible be the base of our foundation of knowledge will allow for many concepts to be understood, as the foundations of modern society were originally based upon the morals present in such stories. On page 66 in the Educated imagination, Frye identifies that "There are all