Mythopoeic/Archetypal criticism…
These are the notes I managed to take during Olivia’s presentation…
Mythopoeia: Based on fictional mythology
Archetypes: Stereotypical characters
Archetypes
- The hero: Usually on a journey – Frodo
- Death: The dark lord
- The shadow: Inner evil of hero psyche – Superheroes
- Mother/father: – Wendy from Peter Pan
- Wise old man: mentor
- Friendly beast: Proves to be pro-hero
- Double: terrible person tempting the hero
- Scapegoat: death brings relief to others- Jesus
- Outcast: Banished for betrayal- Romeo
- Earth mother: emotional, spiritual, comfort. Always female
- Temptress/Terrible mother: temps hero aka witch, sorceress – The white queen
- Perfect woman: character inspires the best in hero
- Unfaithful wife: has relations with other man
- Damsel in distress: in need of physical or emotional saving: buttercup
- Star crossed lovers: Romeo and Juliet
- Trickster- disloyal/untrustworthy- may become useful to hero.
Plot patterns
- Quest
- Task
- Initiation/transformation
- Death and rebirth
- Journey
- Fall
- Nature vs mechanical world
- Unhealable wound
- Ritual
James G. Frasier
- Death and rebirth theory
- related it to the harvest- story of Persephone-
- really believed in myths
Carl jung
- Collective unconscious- we all believe the same things, have this innate knowledge
- You wouldnt know that you think it because it is in your unconscious
- contradicts himself- you read domething and say “I know this because of my collective unconscious” – well how wold you know?
Northrop frye
- Wrote essay archetypes of criticism which made him widely known
- believed that the harvest cannot be viewed as a ritual
- Did not believe in the collective unconscious
- he believed there were two categories in literature
- Tragic- tragedy (automn/fall) / Satire,Irony (winter)
- Comedic- comdy (spring) / romance (sumer)
Tolkien
- Defined/ coined term mythopoeia
- Lord of the rings
- Chronicles of Narnia
