1. Literary Archetypes
In our culture….

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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.

12. Clip
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13. 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

14. 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

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

16. Clip

17. 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

18. 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??

19. 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….
e.com/watch?v=kbr TJUx-mfU

20. The heroic archetype

21. 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 hope that there is always something more to be learned, something more to be discovered; way to fully know ourselves

22. 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.”

23. 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……..

24. Stages of the heroic archetype….

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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…

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. Hero’s Journey See clip and discuss modern heroes in film: