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    Mythological-Archetypal Criticism

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    crishiennac
    This document discusses mythological criticism and archetypal literary theory. It explains that mythological criticism explores how different cultures use myths and symbols through history. A key concept is the archetype, symbols that evoke deep human responses. It discusses Carl Jung's idea that archetypes originate from a collective unconscious shared by all humans. The document then provides examples of common archetypes like the hero, villain, temptress, and explains how to analyze works through their archetypes, characters, images, and situations. It also analyzes the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex through these archetypal lenses.

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    Mythological-Archetypal Criticism

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    crishiennac
    34 views26 pages
    This document discusses mythological criticism and archetypal literary theory. It explains that mythological criticism explores how different cultures use myths and symbols through history. A key concept is the archetype, symbols that evoke deep human responses. It discusses Carl Jung's idea that archetypes originate from a collective unconscious shared by all humans. The document then provides examples of common archetypes like the hero, villain, temptress, and explains how to analyze works through their archetypes, characters, images, and situations. It also analyzes the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex through these archetypal lenses.

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    Theories and Criticism

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    This document discusses mythological criticism and archetypal literary theory. It explains that mythological criticism explores how different cultures use myths and symbols through history. A key concept is the archetype, symbols that evoke deep human responses. It discusses Carl Jung's idea that archetypes originate from a collective unconscious shared by all humans. The document then provides examples of common archetypes like the hero, villain, temptress, and explains how to analyze works through their archetypes, characters, images, and situations. It also analyzes the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex through these archetypal lenses.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    34 views26 pages

    Mythological-Archetypal Criticism

    Uploaded by

    crishiennac
    This document discusses mythological criticism and archetypal literary theory. It explains that mythological criticism explores how different cultures use myths and symbols through history. A key concept is the archetype, symbols that evoke deep human responses. It discusses Carl Jung's idea that archetypes originate from a collective unconscious shared by all humans. The document then provides examples of common archetypes like the hero, villain, temptress, and explains how to analyze works through their archetypes, characters, images, and situations. It also analyzes the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex through these archetypal lenses.

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    You are on page 1of 26

    Space Missing

    invaders Growing U(you)


    Economy
    Forgive and Try to
    Forget Falling In understand
    Love
    MYTHOLOGICAL/
    ARCHETYPAL
    LITERARY
    THEORY
    DISCUSSANT: RENZZELLE
    JOY B. BUEN
    Mythological criticism

    -the combination of anthropology, psychology,


    history, and comparative religion. Mythological
    criticism explores how the imagination uses
    myths, symbols to different cultures and epochs
    -central concept in mythological criticism is an
    archetype that analyses symbols and characters to
    find a deeper meaning
    One key concept in mythological criticism is
    the archetype, “a symbol, character, situation, or
    image that evokes a deep universal response,”
    which entered literary criticism from Swiss
    psychologist Carl Jung
    (Kennedy & Gioia,
    1995).
    He believed that all individuals share an
    “uncollective thought between all humans that
    lies below a person’s unconscious mind” (Persad,
    2012).
    Freud formulated many theories around the
    idea of the social archetype, and his pupil,
    Carl Jung, expanded and refined Freud’s
    theories into a more cross-cultural
    philosophy. However, Northrop Frye
    defined archetypes as “a symbol, usually an
    image, which recurs often enough in
    literature to be recognizable as an element of
    one’s literary experience as a whole.”
    Carl Jung’s ideas:
    ■ Critics who examine texts from a mythological/archetypal standpoint
    are looking for symbols. Jung said that an archetype is “a figure…
    that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is
    fully manifested.”
    ■ Mythological critics tend to view literary works in the broader
    context of works sharing a similar pattern. Further, the mythological
    critics view literature as a gateway to reveal human desires, fears,
    and expectations.
    For example: The Dove means Peace, a Rose means Love. Through
    these objects, we can express our emotions.
    ■ The evidence of this, Jung claimed, lay in the fact that
    some myths are repeated throughout history in cultures
    and eras that could not possibly have had any contact with
    one another.

    ■ Most of the myths and symbols represent ideas that


    human beings could not otherwise explain (the origins of
    life, what happens after death, etc.).
    HOW TO USE THE
    MYTHOLOGICAL/ARCHE
    TYPAL APPROACH
    1. Archetypal Characters.
    ■ The Hero - The archetypal hero appears in all religions,
    mythologies, and epics of the world. He is an expression of
    our personal and collective unconscious, as theorized by Carl
    Jung and Joseph Campbell (Davis, 2007). Characteristics are:
    (a)unusual circumstances of birth
    (b)sometimes in danger or born into royalty
    (c)leaves family or land and lives with others
    (d)an event, sometimes traumatic, leads to adventure or quest,
    (e)hero has a special weapon only he can wield, and others.
    ■ The Villain - A villain is the bad guy, the one who comes up with
    diabolical plots to somehow cause harm or ruin. The villain may
    truly believe that he/she is helping society, but causes harm in the
    process (Literary Terms, 2015). Types of villains are: Traitor,
    Patriarch/Matriarch, Tyrant, Outcast, Devil, Evil Genius, Schemer,
    Lunatic, and Fanatic.

    ■ The Temptress – The key ingredient to any Temptress is allure. In


    most cases that allure comes from beauty, but it is beauty with an
    additive – something that draws men (the metaphorical Siren
    song). It may be wit, sensuality, intelligence, or something
    undefinable, at least to the hero( (Kelly, 2020).
    ■ The Scapegoat – a character who is blamed for
    everything that goes wrong, and must ultimately be
    sacrificed or driven away (Literary Terms, 2015).

    ■ The Loner/Outcast – They are mentally insecure and


    troubled. The outcast carries a sense on not belonging,
    often displaying feelings of confusion and loneliness
    (Fisher, 2020).
    ■ The Underdog- According to Pereira (2019),
    underdog is a relatable character with a deep desire to
    change something in themselves or in the world
    around them.

    ■ The Damsel in Distress - A damsel refers to a young


    woman, and a damsel in distress is almost always a
    woman who is physically attractive; this is of course
    what sparks the interest of her savior. A Damsel is
    always helpless and in need of rescuing ( (dsegal900,
    2020).
    2. Archetypal Images
    ■ Colours
    ■ Numbers
    ■ Water
    ■ Fire
    ■ Gardens
    ■ Celestial Bodies
    ■ Caves
    3. Archetypal Situations
    ■ The Quest
    ■ The Renewal of Life
    ■ Initiation
    ■ The Fall
    ■ Redemptive Sacrifice
    ■ The End of the World
    ■ The Banquet
    AN ANALYSIS OF
    OEDIPUS REX
    Figure 1
    A Cover Page of a Play Sophocles’ Oedipus
    Rex

    Note: A Cover Page of a Play Sophocles’


    Oedipus Rex. Adapted from “Oedipus Rex
    – tragedy means that the protagonist is
    better than ordinary human beings” by
    Jamal,
    2020.https://dailytimes.com.pk/608457/oed
    ipus-rex-tragedy-means-that-the-
    protagonist-is-better-than-ordinary-human-
    beings/. Copyright 2020 by Daily Times
    Developers
    According to Northrop Frye’s Anatomy (Landa, 2018), the
    idea that characterization is a metaphor of all human desire
    – manifested in the Great Chain of Being: divine, human,
    animal, vegetable, and mineral.
    We can analyze the archetypal plot of Oedipus – a tragic
    downfall:
    ■ Born into nobility
    ■ Tries to escape his fate
    ■ Has a rage problem
    ■ Becomes idolized by saving Thebes
    ■ His fate catches up to him
    Oedipus Rex Vs The Waterboy

    ■ Relating the fact that Oedipus was blindly married to his mother
    reflects that of Bobby in the Waterboy. They both are mama’s boy
    unintentionally.
    ■ Any Love Interest that her son may attract with woman will be
    immediately regarded as threat and a rival for the son’s love by the
    mother.
    ■ In the waterboy Bobby was an emasculated mama’s boy who was
    long ago abandon by his father. Bobby now has his mother all to
    himself.
    ■ At one point his mom severs him a roasted snake for dinner,
    complete with an apple in his mouth.
    Note: The
    Waterboy (1998).
    Adapted from “No
    apologies: The
    Waterboy” by
    DiCristino,2017.
    http://www.fthismo
    vie.net/2017/07/n
    o-apologies -
    waterboy.html.
    Copyright 2020 by
    This Movie!.
    Awesome Inc.
    Mythological Criticism
    pertaining to Oedipus Rex
    Carl Jung’s archetypal theory towards the
    bridge of mythology and the human psycho-
    development were an extensive and critical
    aspect to functioning society. These archetypes
    can be seen throughout ancient, medieval and
    modern literature as they are based on the
    observations from different cultures, countries,
    and thoughts commonly shared amongst
    humans.
    Jung explained these archetypes to be, “identical
    psychic structures common to all, which together
    constitute the archaic heritage of humanity” (Landa,
    2018). The believed these archetypes are summoned
    to what is called the collective unconscious.
    2 Proponents of Archetypal Literary
    Theory
    ■ Carl Gustav Jung- patterns are embedded deep in the
    collective unconscious and involve racial memories, situations
    and events.
    Collective unconscious- primal memories common to
    human race , existing below each person’s conscious mind.
    ■ Northrup Fry, a Canadian scholar who proposed the idea that
    the main appeal of literature was or is its connection to
    primitive story formulas. He claimed that literature is a kind of
    displaced mythology that constantly reverts to the same
    patterns that we see in ancient myths.
    Activity:

    FLIP ME
    FIRST!!

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