Northrop Frye's 'Anatomy of Criticism,' published in 1957, introduced a systematic approach to literary criticism that categorized texts into four mythic modes: comic, romantic, tragic, and ironic. Frye's work sought to establish a comprehensive framework for understanding literature, emphasizing the structural relationships between texts and their cultural contexts. His influential theories have had a lasting impact on literary studies, shaping the way scholars and critics analyze and interpret literature.

Shifted literary criticism toward structuralism and archetypal theory, encouraging poets to consciously engage with and subvert deep mythic patterns and seasonal cycles. Frye's framework influenced poets like Robert Bly and Anne Sexton, who incorporated archetypal motifs into their explorations of human experience.