--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see a sequence of seven main phases…" description: "\"I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution or exodus (Israel in Egypt), law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, and apocalypse.\" — Northrop Frye" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png" --- # I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution… ![“I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution or exodus (Israel in Egypt), law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, and apocalypse.” quote by Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png) > “I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution or exodus (Israel in Egypt), law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, and apocalypse.” [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote outlines a seven‑stage pattern of mythic development from creation to apocalypse, reflecting a cyclical view of history and literature. **In simple terms:** It describes a seven‑phase mythic cycle from start to end. Key Takeaway Recognize recurring patterns in narratives. Themes mythology history literary theory structure religion Mood analytical thoughtful Type theoretical interpretive When to use this quote - analysis of religious texts - literary criticism - storytelling workshops - educational curricula Key Concepts Archetype narrative cycle cultural evolution Questions to Reflect On - How do modern stories fit this seven‑phase model? - What phases are missing in contemporary narratives? A Different Perspective The model may oversimplify complex traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apocalypse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Egypt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egypt/) [Exodus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exodus/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Main Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main-phases-4590662/) [Phases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phases/) [Prophecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophecy/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolution Exodus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution-exodus-4590663/) [Sequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sequence/) [Sequence Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sequence-seven-4590664/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) ## Related quotes > [The Book of Revelation, difficult as it may be for "literalists," becomes much simpler when we read it typologically, as a mosiac of allusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-book-of-revelation-difficult-as-it-may-be-for-literalists-becomes/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [ That \[Exodus\] occurred, I have no doubt. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/that-exodus-occurred-i-have-no-doubt/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I personally have no doubt that the Exodus occurred. How it occurred, I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-personally-have-no-doubt-that-the-exodus-occurred-how-it-occurred-i/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [With all due respect for the wondrous ways people have invented to amuse themselves and one another on paved surfaces, I find that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/with-all-due-respect-for-the-wondrous-ways-people-have-invented-to/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [ I read the text; and then I come to the Shirat ha-Yam, to the Song of the Sea \[Exodus 15\], to the poetry. Who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-read-the-text-and-then-i-come-to-the-shirat-ha-yam-to-the-song-of/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [There's something really powerful when I, for example, hear Bob Marley's 'Exodus' - we know where we're going. We know where we're from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/there-s-something-really-powerful-when-i-for-example-hear-bob-marley/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [The God of Exodus is the God of history and of political liberation more than he is the God of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/the-god-of-exodus-is-the-god-of-history-and-of-political-liberation/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [“The ritual of the blood on the lintel of the door, which protected the Israelites from the angel of death, is an apotropaic (avoidance)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/the-ritual-of-the-blood-on-the-lintel-of-the-door-which-protected-the/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [Jews read the books of Moses not just as history but as divine command. The question to which they are an answer is not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/jews-read-the-books-of-moses-not-just-as-history-but-as-divine/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [It is quite exhilarating to speak about a God who has an incredible bias, a notorious bias in favor of the downtrodden. You look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-is-quite-exhilarating-to-speak-about-a-god-who-has-an-incredible/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“Some would do just about anything for an exodus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-l-martin-jr/some-would-do-just-about-anything-for-an-exodus/) [Michael L. Martin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-l-martin-jr/) > [What of the Exodus? That too, is a wonderful story, but from the viewpoint of an historian, it is - to use a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-of-the-exodus-that-too-is-a-wonderful-story-but-from-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ “This magnificent poem \[Exodus 15:1-21\] has been much analyzed, dissected, scanned, and compared with an array of supposed precedent and counterpart works. It has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-i-durham/this-magnificent-poem-exodus-15-1-21-has-been-much-analyzed-dissected/) [John I. Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-i-durham/) > [If I'm ever feeling uninspired, all I have to do is go see Exodus or Arch Enemy, and think 'Oh yeah, that's what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-king/if-i-m-ever-feeling-uninspired-all-i-have-to-do-is-go-see-exodus-or/) [Kerry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-king/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) ## More by Northrop Frye > [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. Death is a leveler, not because everybody dies, but because nobody understands what death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bedrock-of-doubt-is-the-total-nothingness-of-death-death-is-a/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Even the human heart is slightly left of centre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/even-the-human-heart-is-slightly-left-of-centre/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Physics is an organized body of knowledge about nature, and a student of it says that he is learning physics, not nature. Art, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/physics-is-an-organized-body-of-knowledge-about-nature-and-a-student/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature as a whole is not an aggregate of exhibits with red and blue ribbons attached to them, like a cat-show, but the range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-as-a-whole-is-not-an-aggregate-of-exhibits-with-red-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [One doesn't bother to believe the credible: the credible is believed already, by definition. There's no adventure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/one-doesn-t-bother-to-believe-the-credible-the-credible-is-believed/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Tendintele autoritate ale conservatorismului trebuie corectate prin mituri ale libertatii, in vreme ce un simt conservator al ordinii trebuie sa tempereze tendintele liberalismului spre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/tendintele-autoritate-ale-conservatorismului-trebuie-corectate-prin/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature is a human apocalypse, man's revelation to man, and criticism is not a body of adjudications, but the awareness of that revelation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-a-human-apocalypse-man-s-revelation-to-man-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The particular myth that's been organizing this talk, and in a way the whole series, is the story of the Tower of Babel in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-particular-myth-that-s-been-organizing-this-talk-and-in-a-way-the/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Every human society possesses a mythology which is inherited, transmitted and diversified by literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/every-human-society-possesses-a-mythology-which-is-inherited/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Science begins with the world we have to live in, accepting its data and trying to explain its laws. From there, it moves toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/science-begins-with-the-world-we-have-to-live-in-accepting-its-data/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) [Explore all 129 Northrop Frye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## More Apocalypse quotes > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [If it makes you feel any better, this isn't my first apocalypse. There is hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/if-it-makes-you-feel-any-better-this-isn-t-my-first-apocalypse-there/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“The world did not end with a bang, nor did it end with a whimper. It was more of a chomp. And a slurp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rudolph/the-world-did-not-end-with-a-bang-nor-did-it-end-with-a-whimper-it/) [J. Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rudolph/) > [Nuclear apocalypse-who do you need? Actors are probably not top of the list. What can I do for you? I can pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/nuclear-apocalypse-who-do-you-need-actors-are-probably-not-top-of-the/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [“It was a comfortable, familiar apocalypse,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-barnes/it-was-a-comfortable-familiar-apocalypse/) [Adrian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-barnes/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-you-predict-the-end-of-the-world-and-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I once fed a dog-fight operator to the dogs he had abused for so long, and do you want to know something? It felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-nye/i-once-fed-a-dog-fight-operator-to-the-dogs-he-had-abused-for-so-long/) [Cedric Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-nye/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I've been around long enough now and have learned to be flexible enough to know that every movie isn't going to be Apocalypse Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/i-ve-been-around-long-enough-now-and-have-learned-to-be-flexible/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) [Browse all 820 Apocalypse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apocalypse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution or exodus (Israel in Egypt), law, wisdom, prophecy, gospel, and apocalypse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Northrop Frye" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-creation-revolution-or-exodus/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apocalypse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-creation-revolution-or-exodus/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/northrop-frye-3483_apocalypse_i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-cr_551632.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I see a sequence of seven main phases: creation,revolution or exodus (Israel in Egypt), law, wisdom…” — Northrop Frye", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Northrop Frye", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I see a sequence of seven...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-creation-revolution-or-exodus/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-see-a-sequence-of-seven-main-phases-creation-revolution-or-exodus/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```