Archetypal Criticism

1
Archetypal Criticism

• By
• Debora Robles
• ENGL 1102H-306
• Ms. Elizabeth Cranford

2
Definition

• It is no surprise that the word Archetype
  itself comes from the ancient Greeks.
• Archi means a beginning or first instance.
• typos means a stamp or impression
• The term Archetype therefore is used to describe
  an original or symbolic pattern from which
  similar things are modeled. These things or
  ideas or themes typically cross all sorts of
  historical or cultural boundaries.

3
Definitions continued

• Criticism
• As it pertains to literature, criticism is a
  study, evaluation or interpretation of a body of
  work. These interpretations often lead to
  theories, rules, or schools of thought that are
  associated with a particular type of work such as
  poetry, novels or drama.

4
Definitions continued

• Combining these two concepts we get Archetypal
  Criticism which looks at the concepts of
  repeating patterns or storylines within
  literature that stem from ancient mythologies,
  themes, plots, stereotyped characters, memories
  and experiences passed down from generations and
  cultures that are buried in the collective
  unconscious such that it triggers a similar
  response in most everyone.

5
The Originators

• The original idea for Archetypes came from the
  early psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud.
  This was later refined by Carl Jung and other
  contemporaries who coined the term collective
  unconscious meaning the vast reservoir of human
  thought and memory that we all have access to and
  are all affected by in some form or another. The
  basis for many of these theories date back much
  earlier to the great thinkers such as Socrates,
  Plato and Aristotle.

6
Archetypal themes in Literature and Drama

• There are countless Archetypal themes that are
  written, reshaped and have been adapted for
  almost every era, for example
• The story of the star-crossed lovers is best
  exemplified in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet.
  It is still one of the most popular plot lines
  used and or adapted in Hollywood today alongside
  the Cinderella plot line, think Pretty woman
  for example.
• Another archetypal them that typifies Freuds
  sexual dysfunction theories is the story of
  Oedipus an ancient Greek tragedy where a young
  man kills his father and marries his mother.
  This is often associated with Shakespeare's
  Hamlet.
• Other motifs include the birth, death, and
  resurrection themes dating back to countless
  religions from Christianitys Jesus to the
  Egyptians Osiris.

7
Archetypal themes continued.

• In looking for Archetypal themes it is useful to
  be familiar with a variety of mythologies from
  various countries and cultures especially the
  Greek tragedies and comedies which playwrights
  like William Shakespeare exploited to full
  advantage.
• By seeing the parallels in the stories it becomes
  easy to spot repeating storylines and make
  similar associations. These are considered
  archetypal elements in literature. Themes or
  characters that although may have different forms
  tell the same story or often mirror the same
  moral messages.

8
The Tempest

• In looking at the different themes, characters as
  well as the various relationships in
  Shakespeares The Tempest, one can begin to see
  a number of possible associations, for example
• Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan can be viewed
  as a sort of Merlin with his magical powers or as
  more of an omniscient character as God within a
  world his own creation, exacting vengeance and
  then mercy on the evils of man.
• Miranda, the naïve virgin who is schooled, cared
  for and manipulated by her father. She can be
  easily transposed to the virginal Christian
  figure of Mary or Persephone who is kidnapped and
  kept as prize and bargaining tool.
• Caliban the mutant child of a witch, who lusts
  after Miranda from afar somewhat like the
  Hunchback of Notre Dam or their Beauty and
  the Beast relationship as she shows empathy
  towards him in the beginning. He may also mirror
  the illegitimate heir to King Arthurs kingdom as
  Morgan the evil sorceress plots to make her son
  king.

9
The Tempest continued.

• Prospero and his brother Antonio their
  relationship can have similarities to the
  jealousies of a biblical Cain and Abel albeit
  ending an uneasy truce.
• Ferdinand of course the archetypal knight in
  shining armor to Mirandas damsel is a common
  patriarchal theme (as many archetypes tend to
  be).
• The archetype of the wise man is prevalent in
  many tales and is played by Gonzalo the honest
  old counselor.
• Various minor characters remind us of the
  typified village idiots.
• The Island itself deals repeatedly with the
  concepts of reality and illusion and is itself a
  kind of entity that serves as the backdrop for
  the moral lessons learned about true power and
  perceived power and its imprisoning nature if
  used unwisely.
• The play concludes with the exposure of
  subversive plots
• the rectification of wrongs, ultimate
  forgiveness and a happily ever after ending. As
  Prospero turns to the audience he shakes them
  back to reality by speaking directly to them
  delivering the moral message for everyone
  ruminate over. This last method was part of the
  inception of the original Greek dramas that were
  a tool to deal with the moral, political and
  social dilemmas of the day.

10
Conclusion

• Since the beginning of time stories have been
  told and passed down to chronicle events, teach
  morality, as well as to entertain. There are few
  plot lines in literature or drama that do not in
  some way borrow from the collective memories that
  have been generated throughout humanity. This is
  the essence of the Archetype.

11
Works Cited

• Harris, Wendell V. Dictionary of concepts in
  literary criticism and theory. Connecticut
  Greenwood Press, 1992.
• Hawthorn, Jeremy. A Glossary of Contemporary
  Literary Theory.
• New York Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc.,
  1992
• Thomson/Gale. Glossary of Literary Terms. 19
  October 2006
• lthttp//www.gale.com/free_resources/glossary/i
  ndex.htmgt