诺思罗普·弗莱习惯被人们看成是神话原型批评的代表人物,实际上他的理论成就远远超出这一范围,修辞批评,也是他非常重视的一种批评理论与方法。弗莱对修辞的理解,已远超出修辞技巧的领域,他把修辞看成是文学话语的根本特征,看成是文学与社会交流对话,作者与读者沟通的重要手段。弗莱的修辞理论有两个重点,一是对隐喻的重视,一是文类的修辞研究,它对西方现代文学理论有关文学语言、文学类型的认识产生了重要的影响。 Northrop Fryon is used to being seen as the prototype of mythological archetypal criticism. In fact, his theoretical achievements are far beyond this range. Rhetoric criticism is also a critical theory and method to which he attaches great importance. Frye’s understanding of rhetoric has gone far beyond the field of rhetorical techniques. He regards rhetoric as the fundamental feature of literary discourse as a means of communication and dialogue between the literature and society and an important means of communication between the author and the reader. Frye’s rhetorical theory has two focuses. One is the emphasis on metaphor. The other is rhetorical study of genre. It has an important influence on the understanding of literary language and genre in Western modern literary theory.