1. Welcome to the World of Myth and Archetype

2. What is Archetypal Criticism?  A type of literary criticism  Probably one of the most used and referenced styles of criticism  Deals with symbols, patterns and characterization

3. Why Do We Use It?  Archetypal criticism is usually what people use when they discuss a film or text  Words such as “symbol” or “meaning” when dealing with a work have their basis in this criticism  Archetypal criticism allows for possible intention of the writer but is also open for interpretation  Attempts to bring greater meaning to a work by giving sense to the symbols or patterns

4. How Does It Work?  The reader notices something that appears to be universal in the work  This is then analyzed for possible meanings or interpretations  This evaluation is then applied to the overall context of the work to see how it interlocks with what the author is trying to say

5. That Sounds Crazy! How can these people be sure that is what the author intended?

6.  Of course, no one but the author can be absolutely sure what is meant (and even they wonder sometimes)  One of the great things about literature is that it is open to interpretation and application  Usually if you see something that keeps coming up, or some kind of pattern, it was put there on purpose

7. Why It Works:  Proponents of Archetypal Criticism believe that some symbols are universal  This means that even though someone may be from one culture, they will still recognize a symbol’s meaning even if from a different culture  What are some symbols that seem to mean the same thing anywhere?

8. How Can that Be? If I come from China how can things mean the same to me if I come from Southern California?

9. Uncle Carl Solves the Mystery

10. Unfortunately, Not That Uncle Carl!

11. Carl Jung  Originally a disciple of Freud  Another important figure in psychoanalytic theory  Created idea of “collective unconscious”

12. Was Ist Der Collective Unconscious?  The collective unconscious is the idea that all people everywhere share a similar mental history  Everyone is linked on a primal mental level  What is true for one is true for another  This is why archetype works

13. Myth in Relation to Archetype  Myth does the same thing as a symbol or archetype  Myth is just a story that uses a series of archetypal elements as its foundation  What are some myths that seem to be universal?

14. Do People Still Do This or Is This Just for the Old Folks?  Definitely, yes!  Since symbol and archetype are universal, they are being used continually  Think about Huckleberry Finn and how the river represents life  Let’s take a look at something a little closer to home in Star Wars: A New Hope

15. Myth and Archetype in Star Wars  Look at the colors and how they represent good and evil, purity and corruption  Luke’s story follows a myth called the “hero’s quest” where a poor boy is trained by an elderly sage and eventually becomes a person of renown  Think this only happens in Star Wars?

16. The Hero’s Quest  For the anime fans, Galaxy Express 999: the hero travels across the universe to discover that the evil leader is actually his father  Arthur of Camelot and Taran from Alexander’s The Book of Three are both peasants who discover they are kings  Stephen King’s gunslinger Roland and The Bride from Kill Bill learn from a wise old warrior how to be a real fighter  Star Wars itself is based on a movie by Akira Kurosawa

17. Does This Always Work?  Unfortunately, no  Some symbols actually do mean other things in other cultures, colors being a prime example  White in Eastern Culture means death, whereas in Western in means life  Yellow roses in the US mean friendship; in Slavic countries it means death

18.  Authors can also use something for a type of symbol in a work that may not mean the same as it does in a previous work.  Let’s look at M. Night Shyamalan talk about the color red in The Sixth Sense and what it represents

19. Your Assignment  Find a poem, a story, a song or movie that you believe shows use of myth or archetype  Bring your example to class and be prepared to give a short presentation for why you believe your work represents Archetypal Criticism  Write a short (one page) paper describing some of the symbols you have discovered and how they help to bring meaning to the work as a whole