In literary criticism, a term borrowed from psychology employed to discuss the significance of and image, character, situation, etc.

Archetypes are recurring configurations that appear in myth, religion, folklore, fantasy, and dreams, as well as in art and literature. In addition to operating essentially at the subconscious level, archetypes recur universally in human experience: psychologist Carl Jung saw them as manifestations of what he called the collective unconscious. Archetypal criticism is one of several methods of reading a text. !or example, one may trace the archetypes of death and rebirth, the search for the parent, the "romethean rebel, or the scapegoat in poems and short fiction. #xamples of archetypal literary figures, can be found at $nderstanding %iterary Archetypes. &his site also offers another explanation of these figures: !irst of all, an archetype is a pattern from which copies can be made. &hat is, it is a universal theme that manifests itself differently on an individual basis. 'wiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that these archetypes were the result of a collective unconscious. &his collective unconscious was not directly knowable and is a product of the shared experiences of our ancestors. Jung believed it was: Primordial: &hat is, we, as individuals, have these archetypal images ingrained in our understanding even before we are born. Universal: &hese archetypes can be found all over the world and throughout history. &he manifestation of the idea may be different, but the idea itself is the same. Archetypes fall into two ma(or categories: characters, situations)symbols. Some common literary character archetypes include: &he hero, the tragic hero, the villain, the scapegoat, the outcast)wanderer, the Christ*figure, the trickster, the genius, the star*crossed lovers, the mother)goddess, and the fool)clown. Some common literary situational/symbolic archetypes include: +ood, evil, the task, the ,uest, the initiation, or the loss of innocence. Archetypal Colors Color = positive (negative) Black = power (death, mourning) Blue = nobility, tranquility (depression) Brown = Earth, nature (confusion) Gray = neutral (passionless) Green = fertility, renewal, wealth (greed, envy) Orange = adventure, change (forced change, disruptiveness)

Purple = royalty, positive personal growth (injury) Red = se , love (sacrifice, taboo, humiliation, danger) White = purity, wholesomeness, rebirth (emptiness) Yellow = enlightenment (cowardice, illness) Archetypal !mages Water = purity, cleansing, baptism Fire = purging, tribulation Seasons = spring is birth, winter is death Hea enly !odies = moon is change, sun is power Circles = completeness, wholeness, unity Plants = "a# is strength, rose is beauty "ni#als = serpent is evil, lamb is innocent, lion is strong Wilderness = place of testing, place of danger $u#!ers = $ is a divine trinity, % is perfect or luc# Archetypal Characters&'otifs&(ituations %he &uest = a search for someone or something that will restore fertility %he %ask = refers to a superhuman feat that must be accomplished %he 'ourney = sends the hero in search for some truth or information necessary to restore harmony %he (nitiation = a situation where an individual comes to maturity %he Ritual = refers to an organi)ed ceremony for entrance into a community %he Fall = describes a decent in action from a higher to a lower state of being )eath and Re!irth = a pattern that grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life $ature s* +echanistic World = a situation that positions nature against forces of technology Father,Son Con-lict .or +other,)aughter/ = tension resulting from separation during childhood or from an e ternal source Hunting Group o- Co#panions = willing to face any number of perils in order to be with each other 0oyal Retainers = function as noble side#ic#s to the hero* duty is protection Friendly Beast = +hese animals assist the hero %he )e il Figure = represents evil incarnate, 'ay offer worldly goods, fame or #nowledge but for a price %he 1 il Figure with the 2lti#ately Good Heart = a redeemable devil figure or devil figure-s servant who is saved %he Scapegoat = a victim whose death or demise, often in public ceremony, e piates some taint or sin that has been visited upon the community (nnate Wisdo# s* 1ducated Stupidity = some characters intuitively e hibit more wisdom and understanding that supposedly more learned characters %he Outcast = banished from the community for a crime (real or imagined)* destined to become a wanderer %he 1arth +other = character is symbolic of fruition, abundance and fertility +he %e#ptress = characteri3ed !y sensuous !eauty4 #ay !ring a!out a hero5s down-all

%he Platonic (deal = source of inspiration (either physical or spiritual) for the hero-s attraction %he 2n-aith-ul Wi-e = married to a man she sees as dull or distant, who is attracted to a more virile or interesting man %he )a#sel in )istress = +his vulnerable woman must be rescued by the hero* may be used by an evil figure as a trap %he Star,Crossed 0o ers = two characters engaged in a love affair which is fated to end in tragedy due to the disapproval of society, friends, family or the gods, %he Creature o- $ight#are = monster, physical or abstract, who is summoned from the deepest, dar#est parts of the human psyche to threaten life ./eference0 1illiam 2armon and C, 2ugh 2olman, " Hand!ook to 0iterature 3 ed, (4555),67adapted from 8ave Crew-s handout on Archetypal Criticism,

6" Hand!ook o- Critical "pproaches to 0iterature* $d ed, ed,, 1ilfred 9, :uerin .et al,6 ;ew <or#0 " ford =niversity >ress, 455? II. SOME EXAMPLES OF ARCHETYPES 2aving established the significance of myth, we need to e amine its relationship to archetypes and archetypal patterns, Although every people has its own distinctive mythology that may be reflected in legend, fol#lore, and ideology&&although, in other words, myths ta#e their specific shapes from the cultural environments in which they grow&&myth is, in the general sense, universal, @urthermore, similar motifs or themes may be found among many different mythologies, and certain images that recur in the myths of people widely separated in time and place tend to have a common meaning or, more accurately, tend to elicit comparable psychological responses and to serve similar cultural functions, (uch motifs and images are called archetypes, (tated simply, 4A5 archetypes are universal symbols, As >hilip 1heelwright e plains in +etaphor and Reality (Bloomington0 !ndiana =niversity >ress, 45C?), such symbols are those which carry the same or very similar meanings for a large portion, if not all, of man#ind, !t is a discoverable fact that certain symbols, such as the s#y father and earth mother, light blood, up&down, the a is of a wheel, and others, recur again and again in cultures so remote from one another in space and time that there is no li#elihood of any historical influence and causal connection among them (444) E amples of these archetypes and the symbolic meanings with which they tend to be widely associated follow (it should be noted that these meanings may vary significantly from one conte t to another)0

A. Images 4, 1ater0 the mystery of creation* birth&death&resurrection* purification and redemption* fertility and growth, According to Dung, water is also the commonest symbol for the unconscious, a, +he sea0 the mother of all life* spiritual mystery and infinity* death and rebirth* timelessness and eternity* the unconscious,

b, /ivers0 death and rebirth (baptism)* the flowing of time into eternity* transitional phases of the life cycle* incarnation of deities ?, (un (fire and s#y are closely related)0 creative energy* law in nature* consciousness (thin#ing, enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual vision)0 father principle (moon and earth tend to be associated with female or mother principle)* passage of time and life, a, /ising sun0 birth0 creation* enlightenment, b, (etting sun0 death, $, Colors a, /ed0 blood, sacrifice, violent passion0 disorder, b, :reen0 growth* sensation* hope* fertility* in negative conte t may be associated with death and decay, .4EF6 c, Blue0 usually highly positive, associated with truth, religious feeling, security, spiritual purity (the color of the :reat 'other or 2oly 'other), d, Blac# (dar#ness)0 chaos, mystery, the un#nown* death* primal wisdom* the unconscious* evil* melancholy, e, 1hite0 highly multivalent, signifying, in its positive aspects, light, purity, innocence, and timelessness* in its negative aspects, death, terror, the supernatural, and the blinding truth of an inscrutable cosmic mystery (see, for instance, 2erman 'elvilleGs chapter H+he 1hiteness of the 1haleH in +o!y,)ick/* A, Circle (sphere)0 wholeness, unity, a, 'andala (a geometric figure based upon the squaring of a circle around a unifying center* .image6 ;ote that in its classic Asian forms the mandala ju taposes the triangle, the square, and the circle with their numerical equivalents of three, four, and seven, b, Egg (oval)0 the mystery of life and the forces of generation,

c, <ang&yin0 a Chinese symbol .image6 representing the union of the opposite forces of the yang (masculine principle, light, activity, the conscious mind) and the yin (female principle, dar#ness, passivity, the unconscious, 4E4 d, "uroboros0 the ancient symbol of the sna#e biting its own tail, signifying the eternal cycle of life, primordial unconsciousness, the unity of opposing forces (cf, yang& yin) E, (erpent (sna#e, worm)0 symbol of energy and pure force (cf, libido)0 evil, corruption, sensuality* destruction* mystery* wisdom* the unconscious, C, ;umbers0 a, +hree0 light* spiritual awareness and unity (cf, the 2oly +rinity)0 the male principle, (I:raves would question thisJ) b, @our0 associated with the circle, life cycle, four seasons* female principle, earth, nature* four elements (earth, air, fire, water), c, (even0 the most potent of all symbolic numbers&& signifying the union of three and -our7 the completion of a cycle, perfect order, %, +he archetypal woman (:reat 'other&&the mysteries of life death, transformation)0 a, +he :ood 'other (positive aspects of the Earth 'other)0 associated with the life principle, birth, warmth, nourishment, protection, fertility, growth, abundance (for e ample, 8emeter, Ceres), b, +he +errible 'other (including the negative aspects of the Earth 'other)0 the witch, sorceress, siren, whore, femme fatale&&associated with sensuality, se ual orgies, fear, danger, dar#ness, dismemberment, emasculation, death* the unconscious in its terrifying aspects, c, +he (oul 'ate0 the (ophia figure, 2oly 'other, the

4E? princess or Hbeautiful ladyH7incarnation of inspiration and spiritual fulfillment (cf, the Dungian anima), 3, +he 1ise "ld 'an (savior, redeemer, guru)0 personification of the spiritual principle, representing H#nowledge, reflection, insight, wisdom, cleverness, and intuition on the one hand, and on the other, moral qualities such as goodwill and readiness to help, which ma#es his GspiritualG character sufficiently plain, , , , Apart from his cleverness, wisdom, and insight, the old man , , , is also notable for his moral qualities* what is more, he even tests the moral qualities of others and ma#es gifts dependent on this test, , , , +he old man always appears when the hero is in a hopeless and desperate situation from which only profound reflection or a luc#y idea , , , , can e tricate him, But since, for internal and e ternal reasons, the hero cannot accomplish this himself, the #nowledge needed to compensate the deficiency comes in the form of a personified thought, i,e,, in the shape of this sagacious and helpful old manH (C,:, Dung, %he "rchetypes and the Collecti e 2nconscious7 trans, /,@JCJ 2ull, ?nd ed, (>rinceton0 ;D0 >rinceton =>, 45C3)0 ?4%ff, 5, :arden0 paradise* innocence* unspoiled beauty (especially feminine)* fertility, 4F, +ree0 H!n its most general sense, the symbolism of the tree denotes life of the cosmos0 its consistence, growth, proliferation, generative and regenerative processes, !t stands for ine haustible life, and is therefore equivalent to a symbol of immortalityH (D,E, Cirlot, " )ictionary oSy#!ols7 trans, Dac# (age .;ew <or#0 >hilosophical, 45C?60 $?3* cf, the depiction of the cross of redemption as the tree of life in Christian iconography), I(ee also Eliade in Sacred and Pro-ane for an elaborationJ) 44, 8esert0 spiritual aridity* death* nihilism, hopelessness, +hese e amples are by no means e haustive, but represent some of the more common archetypal images that the reader is li#ely to encounter in literature, +he images we have listed do not necessarily function as archetypes very time they appear in a literary wor#, +he discreet critic interprets them 4E$ as such only if the total conte t of the wor# logically supports an archetypal reading,

B. Archetypal Mot !s or Patter"s 4, Creation0 perhaps the most fundamental of all archetypal motifs&& virtually every mythology is built on some account of how the cosmos, nature, and human#ind were brought into e istence by some supernatural Being or beings, ?, !mmortality0 another fundamental archetype, generally ta#ing one of two basic narrative forms0 a, Escape from time0 Hreturn to paradise,H the state of perfect, timeless bliss enjoyed by man and woman before their tragic @all into corruption and mortality, I(ee +yth othe 1ternal Return8 b, 'ystical submersion into cyclical time0 the theme of endless death and regeneration&&human beings achieve a #ind of immortality by submitting to the vast, mysterious rhythm of ;atureGs eternal cycle, particularly the cycle of the seasons, IEliade would show how b is a version of a) $, 2ero archetypes (archetypes of transformation and redemption)0 a, +he quest0 the hero (savior, deliverer) underta#es some long journey during which he or she must perform impossible tas#s, battle with monsters, solve unanswerable riddles, and overcome insurmountable obstacles in order to save the #ingdom, b, !nitiation0 the hero undergoes a series of e cruciating ordeals in passing from ignorance and immaturity to social and spiritual adulthood, that is, in achieving maturity and becoming a full&fledged member of his or her social group, +he initiation most commonly consists of three distinct phases0 (4) separation, (?) transformation, and ($) return, 9i#e the quest, this is a variation of the death&and&rebirth archetype, c, +he sacrificial scapegoat0 the hero, with whom the welfare of the tribe or nation is identified, must die to atone for the peopleGs sins and restore the land to fruitfulness,