Archetypes
By: Kayla Frosinos, Caroline Arrant, and George Cleaver
Definitions:
2) An original that has been imitated
3) A recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.
Some Situation Archetypes
The task- This refers to a possibly superhuman feat that must be accomplished in order to fulfill the ultimate goal.
Death and Rebirth- The most common of all situation archetypes, this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and cycle of life. It refers to those situations in which, someone or something, concrete and/or metaphysical dies, yet is accompanied by the sign or birth or rebirth.
Some Symbolic Archetypes
- Light vs. Darkness
- Water vs. Desert
- Heaven vs. Hell
- Haven vs. Wilderness
- Supernatural Intervention
- Fire vs. Ice
- Colors
- Numbers
- Shapes
- Nature
- Objects
Some Character Archetypes
Initiates- young heroes who, prior to the quest, must endure training and ritual
Mentors- serve as a teacher or counselor to the initiates
The Evil Figure with the Ultimately Good Heart- This devil figure is saved by the hero's nobility or good heart
The Outcast- This figure is banished from a community for some crime (real or imagined). The outcast is usually destined to become a wanderer.
The Damsel in Distress- This vulnerable woman must be rescued by the hero. She also may be used as a trap, by an evil figure, to ensnare the hero.
The Creature of Nightmare- This monster, physical or abstract, is summoned from the deepest, darkest parts of the human psyche to threaten the lives of the hero/heroine. Often it is a perversion or desecration of the human body.