Archetypes and Archetypal Criticism
Northrop Frye from ‘The Archetypes of Literature’ Archetypal Criticism can be based on the idea, as critic Northrop Frye states, that literature can be seen as a ‘complication of a relatively restricted and simple group of formulas’ that originate from a primitive form of art. Basically, what archetypal criticism proposes is that any work of literature ever made has can be broken down to specific patterns and formulas that are valid in every literary context.
Etymologically, the word ‘archetype’ comes from the Greek “arkhe” which means “first” and “typos” which can be translated as “model”. In the “Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology”, the term “archetype” is defined as ‘original pattern from which copies are made’ . Applied to literature we can understand that all literary works are a different and reorganized variant of a pre-existing form that dates back to primitive times.
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Frazer’s work which focused on myth and ritual. In his book “The Golden Bough” he finds elements of different myths and rituals that are recurrent in legends and ceremonials of different cultures and identities. Swiss psychoanalyst Carl G. Jung, associates archetypes with the ‘collective unconscious’ , which he further calls ‘primordial types (…) universal images that have existed since the remotest times’ . He argued that the experiences of our ancestors survive in this ‘collective unconsciousness’ and later surface in myths, dreams, legends and finally works of
These literary works all confront the consequences of mimicking the
When you here literary analysis what does it make you think about? Most people think that literary analysis is just telling other people the overview of a story. However that’s not what literary analysis is, literary analysis is an argumentative analysis about a literary work. In this paper I will do a literary analysis for 6 stories that we read in class, in each story I will be talking about different kinds of concepts seen.
Ben Price Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 20 September 2017 How To Read Literature Like a Professor Essay In the story, How to Read Literature like a Professor, Foster uses many examples to show how deferent types of ligatures can be connected by a common theme, purpose, or other books. In the book he uses examples such as Greek and Roman Mythology, Shakespeare, Fairy tales, and the Bible to show how common their themes are in literature. Foster uses symbols to point out the similarities and connect these books to others. “He’s everywhere, in every literary form you can think of” (page 34) says Foster about the man himself, Mr. William Shakespeare.
Isaiah Kennedy Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 6 21 September 2017 Symbolism of: how to read literature like a professor In his book, how to read literature like a professor, Foster provides insight into the meaning behind recurring situations in literature such as the character of a vampire. The vampire in lore is typically an older man, corrupted by the world, who takes the innocence of a younger woman whom he leaves withered and aged. In books, the vampire character is rarely a literal vampire, but a figurative one instead; in fact, an older professor who uses a young student is the most common portrayal of the vampire. Symbolism is a critical literary technique, arguably the only literary technique given that all the others use symbols
An archetype is an image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a type of character that occurs multiple times in myth, literature, religion, or folk lore. Archetypes often provoke emotion in the reader as they awaken an image, calling illogical responses into play. Many novels, legends, and myth are made up of archetypes which causes similarities in the plots of many novels. For example, the Helper God, the golden place, seasons and metamorphosis are archetypes that make up modern literature and they make up prominent themes found within the novels containing those archetypes. Like these archetypes, the magical weapon archetype, which has only one true owner able to use it to its fullest potential, also is a prominent theme within literature and film creating a large part in the theme.
When reading a novel, readers do not often realize that many authors use the same types of characters and symbols. Applying a literary lens to a novels can help readers better understand why a novel was written. A literary theory is, “A term for analyzing, classifying, defining, interpreting, and evaluating literature” (Davidson). When observing a piece of literature with an Archetypal lens analysts can identify these patterns. According to Literary Devices, “In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action, or a situation that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature” (literarydevices).
However, looking beyond what is initially shown, a new context can adhered to the plot. Carl Jung’s theory of archetypal patterns delves into the human psyche by analyzing its parts. According to Jung, the human mind is split into three different parts; the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious- which can be split into many different archetypes that impact personality (McLeod). Oates uses archetypes and symbolism to show the battle of a young girl trying make her own home and identity in a world that
Despite the human form that mankind takes, monstrous qualities thrive throughout the natures of humanity, creating creatures full of spite and savagery. This malformation in mankind is proved dominant in Elie Wiesel’s autobiography Night, William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, and the painting searching for humanity by John Wentz. The theme of all these pieces is referring to the hermetical aspects that rely within each individual. The evil that lurks abaft the mask exhibited in the world to optically discern, Wentz’s painting represents those factors within society holistically.
Psychoanalyst Otto Rank analyses in his work The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (Rank, 1909) hero myths
The final step of amplification is called archetypal amplification, in which the dreamer looks at the stories and symbols from myth and history that relate to a dream symbol. In Jung’s early research he found that very similar images and stories can be found in myths, fairytales, and folklore from all over the world This led him to develop the concept of the archetypes as deep psychological patterns that underly the way in which people structure stories and find meaning. When you read myths and fairytales you might notice that folklore sometimes includes the same kind of surreal images and unexpected events that occur in dreams. Jung thought that dreams spring from the same psychological archetypes that give mythology it's basic shape.
Cowgil describes Jung’s work as therapy that deals with dreams and fantasies and death. The rising and land of the dead represent the unconscious self and the foreground for collective unconscious theory. This is an unconscious that “[could contain] all the dead, not just our personal ghosts” (Boerre 1). The contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes and they contain many different levels: shadow,
Mother Archetype Mothers are seen occasionally as the strangest, craziest, altruistic people who have ever been encountered. However some argue that they are the complete opposite. The basic perception of mothers that they are loving, caring, and very nurturing, and this makes up the mother archetype, not only modern day but records and perceptions that date back to ancient history. Although it has come along way, Mothers play a very important role in modern day theatre, literature, and even stories dating back to the biblical era. In ancient texts, we see this role being played by Thetis, Achilles mother in Greek mythology.
Detective fiction is one of the most popular forms of fiction in America. In his article, “American Detective Fiction,” Robin W. Winks addresses the fact that in spite of this popularity, the genre has received little critical attention that studies the work for itself. He explains the two types of errors that critics have made when looking at detective fiction: the high road, where critics claim classic works were detective fiction all along, and the low road, where critics poorly execute their analysis and simply give detailed plot summaries. Winks then goes on to describe how American detective fiction has something to offer because it reflects how the society of the time sees itself. This article is mostly effective in proving its claims
Carl Jung refers to the human psyche as both the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. He believes that the conscious attitudes within one’s mind are ideally balanced with the unconscious attitudes. The unconscious expresses ideas through dreams, imagery, fantasies, slips of the tongue and various other involuntary acts (Snowden 56). Jung expressed a varied perspective when it came to the components of the psyche. He divided the psyche intro three components, the conscious, the personal unconscious and the collective
Carl G. Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, comes up with several theories which influenced many fields from psychology to literature and films. Jung focuses on the deep sides of the psyche and he suggests that our unconscious part is also connected to our ancestors and myths in terms of archetypal norms (Jung 261) In Jungian psychology there are various levels of psyche such as persona, anima/animus, shadow, self and many more. Among these levels, shadow plays an important role in the human psyche. Shadow is a concept where less likeable features reside in and it is the opposite of the ego (Caro iv). By being the center of the consciousness, ego is confronted with the shadow in some cases by means