Frye: The Overlap Between Romance and Myth

Northrop Frye, in his book The Secular Scripture: A Study of the Structure of Romance, informs us that, “Most myths are stories about or concerning the gods, and so the distinction between the mythical and the fabulous overlaps a good deal” and that “The difference between the mythical and the fabulous is a difference in authority and social function, not in structure.”  Frye concretizes the distinction between myth and romance when he explains “The mythical poet, then, has his material handed him by tradition, whereas the fabulous poet may, up to a point, choose his own plots and characters” (Frye 8-9).  Within this overlap between myth and romance we can see how the poets of some of the ancient stories we’ve read intertwine with mythical concepts and reveal our primitive relationship to animals and the natural world.