"This volume, a collection of Northrop Frye's writings on the theory of literary criticism from the middle period of his career, features one of Frye's own favourites, The Critical Path (1971). An important marker of Frye's development as a critic. The Critical Path openly addresses some of the overarching philosophical topics that he had previously been hesitant to discuss fully: the importance of literature to society, the responsibilities of critics, and the deeper rationale for studying literature." "The texts in this volume chart Frye's transition from an established literary critic to a ground-breaking critical theorist absorbed with essential concepts of language, myth, and human culture, and help to illuminate many of the ideas and arguments that would appear later in The Great Code and Words with Power. Accompanied by the rigorous annotation for which the series is renowned, this scholarly edition is a major contribution to Frye studies and to the field of literary criticism and theory as a whole."--BOOK JACKET.