Literary Archetypes

Literary Archetypes In our culture….

What is an archetype? • Common characters, settings, symbols, situations that appear in stories of different cultures. • Tell you about what society values and teaches them to the reader. • Examples of archetypes are: the hero, the damsel in distress, the battle between good and evil, etc.

Archetypal Characters • THE HERO circumstances of birth may be unusual, some attempt is made at birth to kill him; raised by foster parents, returns to his kingdom to right wrongs, marries a princess, becomes king, meets a mysterious death, body is burned rather than buried • THE INITIATE—young heroes or heroines who go through training; usually innocent and wear white • MENTOR—teacher or counselor to the initiate; often are father or mother figures to the hero or heroine • VILLAIN—An antagonist that fights against the hero

Archetypal Characters • OUTCAST—figure banished from a social group for some crime against his fellow man (could be falsely accused of a crime or could choose to banish himself from guilt) • EARTHMOTHER—offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those she meets; shown in earth colors and has physical features symbolic of her childbearing capabilities • TEMPTRESS—sensuous beauty; brings about the hero’s downfall because he is physically attracted to her • PLATONIC IDEAL—female figure who provides intellectual stimulation for the hero; he is not physically attracted to her • STAR-CROSSED LOVERS—two lovers forbidden to be together because of the rules of society or family; often ends tragically • CREATURE OF NIGHTMARE—animal or creature disfigured or mutated; monsters who are the antagonists in the story

Archetypal Characters • HUNTING GROUP OF COMPANIONS—loyal companions willing to face any number of dangers to be together • LOYAL RETAINERS—somewhat like servants to the hero who are heroic themselves; their duty is to protect the hero and reflect the nobility of the hero; they are expendable • FRIENDLY BEAST—a beast on the side of the hero shows that nature sides most often with the forces of good • DEVIL FIGURE—evil incarnate; offers worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the hero in exchange for possession of the soul • SCAPEGOAT—animal or human who is unjustly held responsible for others’ sins; sacrificed but they often become more powerful force dead than alive

Archetypal Settings • Paradise, or ideal place where people live without strife or fear • Universe made up of opposites • Landscape that emerges from dark or watery emptiness or confusion • Circle that symbolizes completion • Giant tree that connects heaven and earth • Great flood and a ship that survives it • An underworld that people go to after they die

Archetypal Symbols • LIGHT and DARKNESS—light suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; darkness suggests the unknown, ignorance, or despair. • WATER and DESERT—water is necessary to life and growth and so it appears as a birth or rebirth symbol; the appearance of rain in a work can suggest spiritual birth or rebirth; characters who live in the desert are often “dead” to morals or the “good side” • HEAVEN and HELL—gods live in the skies or mountaintops; evil forces live in the bowels of the earth • NUMBERS- look for repeating numbers, especially 3 and 7 • COLORS- characters may be wearing certain colors. White= purity/goodness, black= evil, blue= peace/heaven etc.

Archetypal Symbols • SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION—the gods most often intervene on the side of the hero to assist him in his quest • HAVEN VS. WILDERNESS—for the hero, places of safety are required for time to regain health and resources; these hideouts are often in unusual places • FIRE VS. ICE—fire can represent knowledge, light, life, and rebirth while ice can represent ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death • MAGIC WEAPON—some object used to fight the forces of evil that has magical properties

Archetypal Situations • THE QUEST—search for someone or some object, which when it is found and brought back will restore life to a wasted land, the desolation of which is shown by a leader’s illness and disability • THE TASK—to save the kingdom, to win the fair lady, to identify himself so that he may assume his rightful position, the hero must perform some nearly superhuman deed. • THE INITIATION—this usually takes the form of an initiation into adult life. The adolescent comes into his/her maturity with new awareness and problems along with a new hope for the community. This awakening is often the climax of the story. • THE JOURNEY—the hero goes in search of some truth or information to restore life to the kingdom; he must descend into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths quite often concerning his faults; once the hero is at his lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living; this could also appear as a group of isolated people (trapped on a boat, bus, island) to represent society

Archetypal Situations • THE FALL—describes a descent from a higher to a lower state of being. The experience involves a defilement and/or a loss of innocence and bliss. The fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as a penalty for disobedience and moral transgression. • DEATH AND REBIRTH—grows out of a parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. Thus, morning and springtime represent birth, youth, or rebirth; evening and winter suggest old age or death. • NATURE VS. MECHANISTIC WORLD—Nature is good while technology and society are often evil. • BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL—Obviously the battle between two primal forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds. • THE UNHEALABLE WOUND—The wound is either physical or psychological and cannot be healed fully. This wound also indicates a loss of innocence. These wounds always ache and drive the sufferer to desperate measures. • THE RITUAL—The actual ceremonies the initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state (weddings, funerals)

Film Clip #1 - Shrek Identify as many archetypes as you can from the clip and the rest of the film that you are familiar with.

Clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYi_mZ-nYp0

SHREK Archetypes • HERO—Shrek…literally doing superhuman deeds ( fighting fire breathing dragon) • QUEST—to find and rescue Princess Fiona • TASK—to get his swamp back from the fairy creatures • HUNTING GROUP OF COMPANIONS—Donkey is there to make Shrek’s humanity come out and show that he is not just an ogre at heart • FRIENDLY BEAST—Donkey • DAMSEL IN DISTRESS—Princess Fiona in the highest tower • HEAVEN VS. HELL—glowing embers and fire are shown to be the habitat of the dragon. • LIGHT VS. DARKNESS—the castle is dark to represent evil; Fiona is first seen in a ray of light; as soon as they escape, they emerge into daytime since they have escaped evil

SHREK Archetypes • DEATH AND REBIRTH—when they escape the dragon, morning is dawning suggesting hope and rebirth • BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL—Shrek and Donkey vs the Dragon • STAR-CROSSED LOVERS—Dragons and Donkeys aren’t supposed to be together • EVIL FIGURE WITH A GOOD HEART—Dragon appears at first as an Evil Figure, especially with the remains of the knights, but Donkey saves her and converts her to good • CREATURE OF NIGHTMARE—Dragon before she falls in love with Donkey • THE JOURNEY—Shrek and Donkey face their fears and conquer the dragon, finding Fiona to accomplish their task

Film Clip #2 – The Lion King Watch the following clip and identify the major character, symbol, and situational archetypes.

Clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsbXh6ySPgI

Lion King Character Archetypes • Mufasa= Father figure • Simba= Hero • Nala= female warrior • Scar= villain/outsider • Timon and Pumba= helpers/loyal sidekicks • Rafiki= mentor/ God teacher

Lion King Archetypes • Cycle of death/rebirth • Call to action (when father dies and knows what he must do) • Refusal of the call (hesitates until Rafiki helps him- also Timon and Pumba) • Leaving the castle (Pride Rock) into the unknown • Battle of good and evil (with good prevailing) • What others do you notice??

Archetypes in Modern Film • There are so many that we do not go over all of them, but next time you go to the movies, consider the evidence of these archetypes…. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbrTJUx-mfU

The heroic archetype

Joseph Campbell’s “Monomyth” The idea of the hero is a theme in all media American author Joseph Campbell coined the “monomyth” to refer to the pattern that myths around the world typically follow Heroes in all cultures share a pattern that is predictable and recognizable The monomyth feeds our hop that there is always something more to be learned, something more to be discovered; way to fully know ourselves

Carl Jung’s Influence A pattern that can followed by all or nearly all things of the same kind is called an archetype, a concept developed by psychologist Carl Jung. Campbell outlined the steps taken by heroes in virtually ALL cultures in his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces Jung said, “the essential function of the heroic myth is the development of the individual’s ego-consciousness- his awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses- in a manner that will equip him for the arduous tasks with which life confronts him.”

Elements of the monomyth • The heroic journey • Three necessary stages: separation and departure, initiation, and the return or reintegration (we will take a more in-depth look at these later) • Companions • Archetypal characters of the father, warrior, healer, mentor, etc….; hero calls on his own strengths, often represented as companions • Overcoming/embracing the shadow • Hero must face evil to achieve the quest • The circular journey • Always in a circle, leading back home We will look at the stages of the journey after we first look at the stages of the archetypal hero……..

Stages of the heroic archetype….

Unusual Birth Son/daughter of a King for example Sometimes a secret not revealed until later in the hero’s life May be magical Could be born into danger, or the birth could fulfill some sort of prophecy Example: Simba is born prince to King Mufasa and all of Pride Rock celebrates in his birth

Departure/ Leaves Family Something compels the hero to leave family May begin on heroic journey because of a discovery of their true identity and a desire to fulfill them Message to the hero for hero to leave Hero may try to avoid destiny of being a hero, but doesn’t last…(this is also referred to as refusal of the call) Example:Simba with Timon and Poomba

Special weapon Hero often has a special weapon that only he/she can use Weapon may have magical powers Example: King Arthur’s Excalibur; Harry Potter’s magic wand

Journey/Test Hero must go on a journey or quest to prove him/herself a true hero Sometimes a series of challenges or one large task If the hero has to cross to “the dark side” in order to go on the journey, this is called crossing the threshold Example: In Lord of the Rings, the ring bearer must journey to Mount Doom to destroy the ring for the good of the world…..he almost crosses onto the “dark side” along the way…

Supernatural Help Hero often aided by a helper, or helpers, that are often magical or supernatural Helper may be a mentor and/or guide Example: Wizard of Oz; Sleeping Beauty; Shrek

Unusual wound/Descent into Hell Wound can be physical or emotional Something hero encounters on journey and never recovers Example: Harry Potter has an unusual wound; Dante descends into hell on a journey from which he never truly recovers

Return Hero (at times, reluctantly) returns to the place he/she began Return sometimes accompanied by some kind of benefit the hero is bringing back (magic potion, salvation, etc…) Example: Shrek returning after spell on Fiona; Frodo returns to the Shire

Atonement with/for father Hero will make up with his father Sometimes making up for misdeeds or evil done by the father Example: The spirit of Mufasa tells Simba to be strong and assume his place on the throne, so he chooses to avenge his father’s murder and take his place as King

Apotheosis (exaltation to the divine level) As with the previous steps, the hero’s apotheosis is part of the return but merits its own step because this is where the hero crosses over into some sort of external reward for their efforts May be as simple as a period of rest, or it may be a promise or realization of eternity

PBS Heroes and Antiheroes directors interviews • See clip and discuss modern heroes (prepare for tomorrow’s discussion of who is a hero and who is a celebrity….) • http://video.pbs.org/video/2365026098

Literary Archetypes