Frye\u2019s Examination Questions for His Religious Knowledge Courses.<\/p>\n
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Reproduced here are the examination questions that Frye set for his first\u2011, third\u2011, and fourth\u2011year courses in Religious Knowledge for the years 1947\u201350, 1952, 1958\u201360, 1962, and 1966\u201368.\u00a0 I am indebted to Nicholas Graham of the Frye Centre and president of the Northrop Frye Society for uncovering these from the archives of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, <\/em>University<\/em> of <\/em>Toronto<\/em>, and sending them along to me.<\/em><\/p>\n \n \n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1947<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE\u2014FOURTH YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n A STUDY OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE<\/p>\n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n <\/em>Time: 2l<\/sup>\/2<\/sub> hours<\/em><\/p>\n \n OR<\/em><\/p>\n Estimate the value of any one <\/em>of the following (a<\/em>) in terms of his individual merits as an author, (b<\/em>) <\/em>in terms of his contribution to our understanding of the Bible as a <\/em>whole: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Paul, John, the author of Job.\u00a0 (In some cases it will be necessary to explain carefully <\/strong>what books you are ascribing to the author.)<\/p>\n OR<\/em><\/p>\n A question formulated by the candidate will be accepted: such a question must of course be written out in full at the beginning of the answer to it.<\/p>\n \n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1948<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE\u2014FIRST YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n THE ENGLISH BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n \n Answer <\/em>five questions.<\/em><\/p>\n \n <\/em><\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Outline the development of Hebrew prophecy down to the Exile.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n OR<\/em><\/p>\n Discuss the importance and the peculiar character\u00adistics of one of the following: Isaiah, the Second Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, the author of Ecclesiastes.<\/p>\n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1949<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE\u2014FIRST YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n THE ENGLISH BIBLE<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n \n 1. Write notes on three of: early Hebrew poetry; primitive prophecy from Saul to Elijah; the four-document structure of the Pentateuch; the place of the Exile in Babylon in Hebrew thought; monotheism in Amos; the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah; the conception of Christ in the Gospels.<\/p>\n \n \n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1950<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS\u00a0 KNOWLEDGE\u2014FIRST YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n THE ENGLISH BIBLE<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Answer <\/em>four questions.<\/em><\/p>\n 1. Write notes on five <\/em>of:\u00a0 the Book of Deuteronomy, the fragments of early poetry in the Old Testament, the J, E, and P sources of the Pentateuch, the Apocrypha, the Exodus, the Babylonian captivity, Moses and Elijah in the New Testament, the inter-relations of the synoptic Gospels.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 What are the chief associations of the phrase \u201cWord of God\u201d in Christian doctrine?<\/p>\n 3. Write an essay on one of the following: the trans\u00adlation of the Bible, the historical background of the Bible, the development of prophecy in the Old Testament.<\/p>\n 4. What are some of the more significant symbols in the Book of Revelation, and what is the book as a whole trying to say?<\/p>\n 5. Outline the argument of the Book of Job, attempting to assess the place in that argument of the following: the Prologue, the speeches of Elihu, the description of Behemoth and Leviathan,\u00a0 the restoration of Job to prosperity.<\/p>\n \n \n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1952<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE\u2014FIRST YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n THE ENGLISH BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n \n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1958<\/p>\n Third Year\u2014Honour<\/p>\n Religious Knowledge<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM OF THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner<\/em>\u2014H. N. Frye<\/p>\n \n Answer <\/em>four questions.\u00a0\u00a0 Try to avoid undue repetition.<\/em><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 What evidence is there that the authors of the New Testament tended to read and interpret the Old Testament symbolically?\u00a0\u00a0 Base your discussion on one <\/em>of the following:\u00a0 (a<\/em>) Gospels and Acts, (b<\/em>) <\/em>the Pauline and General Epistles, (c<\/em>) Revelation.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Outline the argument of the Book of Job and consider in your interpretation the remark made by Job to God in Robert Frost\u2019s poem A. Masque of Reason:<\/em><\/p>\n Because I let You off<\/p>\n From telling me Your reason, don\u2019 t assume<\/p>\n I thought You had none.\u00a0 Somewhere back<\/p>\n I knew You had one. But this isn\u2019t it<\/p>\n You\u2019re giving me.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Write brief notes on five <\/em>of: Leviathan, Moses and Elijah, Joshua, Melchizedek, David and Solomon, Antichrist, Babylon.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Indicate briefly the chief uses made in the Bible of three <\/em>of the following recurrent symbols:\u00a0\u00a0 ark, dove, serpent, river, cup, tree, temple.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 What contributions to the symbolism of Christianity originated from two <\/em>of:\u00a0 the agricultural cults; nomadic and pastoral life; the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia; rival religions in the Roman Empire?<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 Trace the main features either <\/em>of the Messiah conception or <\/em>of the symbolism of sacrifice in the Old Testament, with some comment on the New Testament interpretation of it.<\/p>\n 7. \u201cMy God, Thou art a direct God, a literal God, a God that wouldst be understood literally. . . . But thou art also a figurative, a metaphorical God, a God in whose words there is such a height of figures, such voyages, such peregrinations to fetch remote and precious metaphors, such extensions, such spreadings, such curtains of Allegories, such third Heavens of hyperboles. . . . The style of thy works, the phrase of thine actions, is metaphorical. The institution of thy whole worship in the old Law, was a continual Allegory; types and figures overspread all; and figures flowed into figures. . . . Circumcision carried a figure of Baptism, and Baptism carries a figure of that purity, which we shall have in the new Jerusalem. . . How much more often doth thy Son call himself a way, and a light, and a gate, and a vine, and bread, than the Son of God, or of Man . . .\u201d \u2014John Donne, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions <\/em>(1624). \u00a0Using this passage as a basis for discussion, what is the importance of \u201cmetaphor\u201d in the Bible either <\/em>(a<\/em>) in the understanding of Christianity as a whole, or <\/em>(b<\/em>) <\/em>in the study of literature?<\/p>\n VICTORIA COLLEGE<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS,\u00a0\u00a0 1959<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE \u2013 THIRD YEAR<\/p>\n Pass Option for Honour Courses<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM IN THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner:\u00a0\u00a0 H.\u00a0\u00a0 N.\u00a0\u00a0 Frye<\/p>\n 1. Write notes on five<\/em> of: the development of prophecy; the Apocrypha; Passover; the imagery<\/p>\n of the Song of Songs; problems of translation in the Bible; the sources used by Old Testament writers; the symbolism of sacrifice in the Bible; Jerusalem; the ceremonial law as an allegory.<\/p>\n 2. \u201cIt may be only the result of editing and rewriting, but the Book of Job in its present form gives us the impression of somebody starting something he couldn\u2019t finish.\u201d \u00a0Discuss.<\/p>\n 3. Explain the pattern of symbolism in the Book of Revelation.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Trace the appearances in the Bible of five<\/em> of the following symbolic pairs, with some account of their significance: dove and ark; Moses and Elijah; leviathan and behemoth; Egypt and Babylon; bread and wine; king and priest; tree and river.<\/p>\n VICTORIA UNIVERSITY<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS. 1960<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE \u2013 THIRD YEAR<\/p>\n Pass Option for Honour Courses<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM IN THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner \u2013 H. N. Frye<\/p>\n \n 1.\u00a0\u00a0 What are some of the ways in which the Bible has been re-interpreted by editing and later comment?\u00a0 Discuss with reference to one of the following;<\/p>\n (a) earlier and later writing within the Old Testament<\/p>\n (b) the Old Testament as compared with the Apocrypha and the New Testament<\/p>\n (c) the Bible and later tradition and commentary, including translation.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 What is the meaning of the word \u201capocalypse\u201d? \u00a0Outline the apocalyptic symbolism of the Book of Revelation with reference to its sources to the Old Testament.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Is there such a thing as \u201cThe Religion of the Bible\u201d?<\/p>\n UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO<\/p>\n VICTORIA UNIVERSITY<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1962<\/p>\n \n Religious Knowledge – Third Year<\/p>\n Pass Option for Honour Courses<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM OF THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner \u2013 N. Frye<\/p>\n 1. Comment on the symbolism of five of the following:<\/p>\n (a) Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. \u00a0But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present . . .\u00a0 (Heb. 9).<\/p>\n (b) To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood . . .\u00a0 (I Peter 2).<\/p>\n (c) Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that al1 our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.\u00a0 (I Cor. 10).<\/p>\n (d) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.\u00a0 (Rev. 12).<\/p>\n (e) And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Rev. 11).<\/p>\n (f) Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. For thy help will I send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah, after whose counsel I <\/em>have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with divers fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy. (II Esdras 2).<\/p>\n (g) Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. (Ps. 89).<\/p>\n (h) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. (John 3).<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Write notes on five of: Melchizedek; Moses and Elijah; the Great Whore; the Red Sea; the Promised Land; the \u201cscapegoat\u201d; the deluge; the Bride of the Song of Songs.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 What is the importance for Biblical symbolism of <\/em>two<\/em> of: the Jewish ceremonial law; the life of Christ as presented in the Gospels; the authority of the prophet; the conception of \u201cvanity\u201d in Ecclesiastes; God\u2019s answer to Job.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Why is the Old Testament necessary to Christianity?<\/p>\n VICTORIA UNIVERSITY<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1966<\/p>\n \n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE – THIRD YEAR<\/p>\n PASS OPTION FOR HONOUR COURSES<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM IN THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner \u2013 H. N. Frye<\/p>\n Comment on the symbolism of some of the following passages (no precise number required)<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 Kings\u2019 daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.\u00a0 (Psalm 45: 9).<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord\u2019s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. (Jeremiah 51: 7).<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 For thy help will I send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah, after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with divers fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, where\u00ad upon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy. (II Esdras 2: 18\u201319).<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.\u00a0 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0 Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.\u00a0 (John 12: 24).<\/p>\n 6.\u00a0 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? \u00a0Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 2: 15).<\/p>\n 7. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called \u00a0Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.\u00a0 (Revelation 11: 8).<\/p>\n 8.\u00a0 All that openeth the womb is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether 9.\u00a0 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (Job 42: 5).<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.\u00a0 (Psalm 110: 4).<\/p>\n VICTORIA UNIVERSITY<\/p>\n \n ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS, 1967<\/p>\n RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE 316<\/p>\n \n SYMBOLISM IN THE BIBLE<\/p>\n \n Examiner \u2013 H. N. Frye<\/p>\n Comment on the symbolism of some of the following:<\/p>\n (a)\u00a0 When Pharaoh would hardly let us go, the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.\u00a0 (Exodus 13:15)<\/p>\n (b)\u00a0 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices. (I Peter 2:4\u20135)<\/p>\n (c)\u00a0 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.\u00a0 (Rev. 11:8)<\/p>\n (d)\u00a0 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.\u00a0 (S.S. 1:5)<\/p>\n (e)\u00a0 The wise man\u2019s eyes are in his head but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. \u00a0Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? \u00a0Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.\u00a0 (Eccl, 2:14\u201315)<\/p>\n (f)\u00a0 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.\u00a0 (Ps. 110:4)<\/p>\n (g)\u00a0 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them, Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.\u00a0 (Ps. 89:9\u201310)<\/strong><\/p>\n (h) \u00a0The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My <\/em>wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.\u00a0 (Job 42:7)<\/p>\n (i) \u00a0For thy help will I send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah, after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with divers fruits, and as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy.\u00a0 (II Esdras 2:18\u201319)<\/p>\n (j) \u00a0All our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea: and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (I Cor, 10:1\u20134)<\/p>\n (k) \u00a0And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.\u00a0 (Rev. 21:2)<\/p>\n 1968<\/p>\n \n THIRD YEAR RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE 316<\/p>\n \n Symbolism in the Bible<\/p>\n \n Examiner \u2013 H. N. Frye<\/p>\n Comment on as many (or as few) of the following verses as you like:<\/p>\n (a)\u00a0 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. \u00a0So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.\u00a0 (Genesis 3: <\/em>22\u201324).<\/p>\n (b)\u00a0 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. \u00a0But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. \u00a0All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. \u00a0And none shall appear before me empty.\u00a0 (Exodus 34: 19\u201320).<\/p>\n (c)\u00a0 Thus saith the Lord God:\u00a0 Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My <\/sup>river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.\u00a0 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.\u00a0 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered:\u00a0 I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.\u00a0 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. (Ezekiel 29: 3\u20136).<\/p>\n (d)\u00a0 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. . . . And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 21 1\u20132; 22: 1\u20132).<\/p>\n (e)\u00a0 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man\u2019s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise?\u00a0 Then I said in my heart, that this also is <\/em>vanity. (Ecclesiastes 2: 13\u201315).<\/p>\n (f)\u00a0 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.\u00a0 (John 3: 14).<\/p>\n (g)\u00a0 As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? (Job 21: 4).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Frye\u2019s Examination Questions for His Religious Knowledge Courses. Reproduced here are the examination questions that Frye set for his first\u2011, third\u2011, and fourth\u2011year courses in Religious Knowledge for the years 1947\u201350, 1952, 1958\u201360, 1962, and 1966\u201368.\u00a0 I am indebted to Nicholas Graham of the Frye Centre and president of the Northrop Frye Society for uncovering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-6389","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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\nox or sheep, that is male. (Exodus 34: 19).<\/p>\n