Archetypal Literary Theory

What is an Archetype?

According to Carl Jung, an archetype is an image that is in the collective unconscious of all human beings, which is why it’s expressed in literature (stories).

How are Archetypes Expressed in Literature?

Literary archetypes can be expressed in 3 difference ways:

Characters (hero, scapegoat, outcast, mentor, temptress, villain)

Stories (newcomer’s arrival, quest, initiation, fall, death and rebirth)

Symbols (light/dark, heaven/hell)

So What is Archetypal Literary Theory?

Archetypal literary theory identifies common archetypes literature and discusses how they function.

The Hero

The hero commonly possesses superhuman capabilities or idealized character traits which enable him to perform extraordinary, beneficial deeds.

Noble warrior

Common Types of Heroes

Willing Hero(Superman/Hercules)Unwilling Hero(Frodo/Aragorn)Antihero (Batman)Tragic Hero(Julius Caesar)

The Wise Old Man

This archetype is typically represented by a kind and wise, older father figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world, to help tell stories and offer guidance, that in a mystical way illuminate to his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.

The Mentor/Guide

Provides motivation, insights, training to the hero.

Often represented by wise old man.

Found alongside almost all heroes.

Does not have to be human.

Common Types of Mentors

Dark Mentor(Snape)Fallen Mentor(Aragorn)Continuing

Mentor(Gandalf)Comic Mentor(Ron)

The Earth Mother

The Great Mother is commonly conceived of as a nature goddess.

Symbolizes mothering, nurturance, and connection to nature.

The Shadow

The Shadow archetype represents unknown attributes of an individual.

It is responsible for unpleasant, socially unacceptable, thoughts, feelings & behaviors.

Example: Voldemort

The Persona

The persona is the mask or appearance one presents to the world.

A well developed individual may have several personae for different social situations.

The Animus and Anima

The Anima is the feminine archetype in men (gentleness, patience, receptiveness).

The Animus is the male archetype in women (assertive, controlling, fighting spirit).

The Trickster

Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both; they are often very funny.

Cause trouble, but don’t mean to be to malicious.

Shapeshifter

Character who wears a mask and misleads the hero by hiding his/her intentions and loyalties. Can physically transform. All is not what is seems….

The Herald

Initiates the journey.

Issues challenges and announces the coming of a significant change.

Carrier of the power of destiny.

Damsel in Distress

Vulnerable woman who must be rescued by the hero.

She is often in a trap to catch the unsuspecting hero and allow the villain to win.

Platonic Ideal

This woman is a source of inspiration and a spiritual ideal for whom the hero has an intellectual rather than physical attraction to.

Temptress

Characterized by sensuous beauty.

Hero is attracted to her physically.

She is often the cause of the hero’s downfall. Leads him off course

Other archetypal elements

Water: birth-death-resurrection; creation; purification and redemption; fertility and growth.

Sea/ocean: the mother of all life; spiritual mystery; death and/or rebirth; timelessness and eternity.

Rivers: death and rebirth (baptism); the flowing of time into eternity; transitional phases of the life cycle. . . .

Sun (fire and sky are closely related): creative energy; thinking, enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual vision.

Rising sun: birth, creation, enlightenment.Setting sun: death.

colors

Colors:Red: blood, sacrifice, passion; disorder.Green: growth, hope, fertility.Blue: highly positive; secure; tranquil;

spiritual purity.Black: darkness, chaos, mystery, the

unknown, death, wisdom, evil, melancholy.White: light, purity, innocence, timelessness;

[negative: death, terror, supernatural]Yellow: enlightenment, wisdom.

numbers

Numbers:3 - light, spiritual awareness, unity (the Holy

Trinity); male principle.4 - associated with the circle, life cycle, four

seasons; female principle, earth, nature, elements.

7 - the most potent of all symbolic numbers signifying the union of three and four, the completion of a cycle, perfect order, perfect number; religious symbol.

nature

Serpent (snake, worm): symbol of energy and pure force (libido); evil, corruption, sensuality, destruction.

Wise old Man: savior, redeemer, guru, representing knowledge, reflection, insight, wisdom, intuition, and morality.

Garden: paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty.Tree: denotes life of the cosmos; growth;

proliferation; symbol of immortality; phallic symbol.Desert: spiritual aridity; death; hopelessness.Creation: All cultures believe the Cosmos was

brought into existence by some Supernatural Being (or Beings).

seasons

Spring - rebirth; genre/comedy.Summer - life; genre/romance.Fall - death/dying; genre/tragedy.Winter - without life/death; genre/irony.