Archetypes in
Literature and Film
Denise HunterEDSC 304 Microsoft Office
Word 97 - 2003 Document
What is an “archetype”?
Psychologist Carl Jung called these elements a kind of “collective unconscious” of the human race
Repeated patterns that recur in the literature of every age
“The primordial image, or archetype, is a figure…that constantly recurs in the course of history and appears wherever creative
fantasy is freely expressed…In each of these images there is a little piece of human psychology and human fate, a
remnant of the joys and sorrows that have been repeated countless times in our
ancestral history…” – Carl Jung
The Archetypes
The child The hero The devil
The mentor
The wise old manThe great mother
The trickster
Classic literature is filled with archetypes…
• Gilgamesh• Beowulf• Homer’s The Iliad• Homer’s The Odyssey• Sir Thomas Malory’s Le
Morte d’Arthur
Why is understanding archetypes important to understanding literature?• They provide the deepest
structure of human motivation and meaning
• Becoming aware of archetypes can help us understand characters on a deeper level– Motivations, dreams– predictions are possible
• Understand the journey of the characters
Where else can we find specific examples of archetypes throughout the history of
literature?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
William Shakespeare
Where can we find archetypes in our modern world?
How can the complexity of
human nature be understood by
examining archetypes?
Activity: What is your archetype?
Archetype AssessmentBased on the theories Carl S. Pearson published in The Hero
Within.