1. ARCHETYPES archetypes are recurring images, symbols, characters, patterns, and settings that give literature its unity

2. Not individual/shared with all. Connects people to past, beyond personal feeling to common experience They are universal, understood by everyone Not explained by interaction among cultures because geography and history often made this possible Recurring - slightly altered forms to take present day situations and relate them to the past in order to find meaning in a contemporary world What are common characteristics of archetypes?

3. ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS.

4. THE HERO The hero is a character usually portrayed as “larger than life.” The hero exhibits outstanding qualities and abilities and embodies the ideals of his culture and society.

5. THE ANTI-HERO A reluctant hero who does not consider himself capable of accomplishing the goal. He might be selfish, addicted, corrupt, sullen or disaffected. noble motives pursued by bending or breaking the law in the belief that “the ends justify the means” philosophy. By the end of the journey the anti-hero typically transforms into a fuller, happier or more complete person due to the struggles he or she endures. In many cases the anti-hero dies at the end of the story, even while overcoming.

6. THE VILLAIN A villain (also known in film and literature as the "bad guy", “black hat", or "heavy") is an “evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess (often to differentiate her from a male villain). A villain is usually a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.

7. THE WISE OLD MAN The wise old man is usually a profound philosopher distinguished for wisdom and sound judgment. These characters many times have beards.

8. THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue.

9. THE INNOCENT The promise of the Innocent is that life need not be hard. The innocent is a child or a naïve/inexperienced man or woman who is exposed to the evil in the world. This character usually moves from innocence to experience and knowledge.

10. THE HELPFUL ANIMAL Any animal that helps the hero in times of trouble. The animal can be a sidekick that offers reason to the hero when he gets stuck and can’t figure his way out.

11. ALTER-EGO OR DOUBLE Split personalities or opposite tendencies within one individual

12. EARTH MOTHER The eternal provider: protecting, nurturing, sheltering, nourishing female character

13. THE TEMPTRESS A woman, who through her power, can render a strong man weak and a wise man foolish.

14. OPPOSITES OR COMPLIMENTARY PAIRS Two individuals of opposite natures who, if combined, would make one balanced and “complete” individual.

15. SCAPEGOAT OR SACRIFICIAL VICTIM One who suffers or is blamed unjustly in order that others may escape blame or punishment.

16. THE TRICKSTER In mythology, folklore, and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior.

17. THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE A woman married to a man she sees as dull or distant and is attracted to a more virile and interesting man.

18. Archetypal Settings

19. The Garden Cultivated and carefully planned. Restricted to certain vegetation. Represents order.

20. The Forest/The Countryside Habitat of the Great Mother (Mother Nature), the lunar force. Fertility. The vegetation and animals flourish in this “green world” because of the sustaining power of the Great Mother. Symbolically the primitive levels of the feminine psyche, protective and sheltering. Those who enter often lose their direction or rational outlook and thus tap into their collective unconscious. This unregulated space is opposite of the cultivated gardens, which are carefully planned and are restricted to certain vegetation.

21. The Tree Represents life and knowledge

22. Mountains and Peaks Highest peak is place to “see” far Place to gain great insight

23. The Cave Deep down where the character delves within themselves. Place that the character goes when “invisible” or inactive. At the extreme may signify death

24. The River Crossing river may symbolize new territory Rivers can be boundaries or borders & on the other side is something new or different May represent human life or time passing as we follow the river from its source to its mouth May represent death and rebirth (baptism)

25. The Sea Vast, alien, dangerous, chaos Waves may symbolize measures of time and represent eternity or infinity Mother of all life The unconscious

26. The Fountain Stands for purification; the sprinkling of water (baptism) washes away sin. Water of fountain gives new life

27. Islands Microcosms or small worlds unto themselves Represent isolation or get-a-ways

28. Archetypal Symbols

29. The Sun Fire and Sky are closely related Creative energy Law in nature; consciousness (thinking, enlightenment, wisdom) Passage of time and life Rising sun: birth; creation; enlightenment Setting sun: death

30. Colors Red: blood, sacrifice, violent passion, disorder Green: growth, sensation, hope, fertility Blue: highly positive, truth, religious feeling, spiritual purity, security White: light, purity, innocence, supernatural Black: chaos, mystery, the unknown, death, evil

31. The Circle Sphere: wholeness Yang-Yin The Chinese symbol representing the union of opposite forces of the Yang and the Yin Egg (oval) the mystery of life and the forces of the generation Ouroboros The ancient symbol of the snake biting its own tail ; represents the circle of life

32. Serpent Snake or worm Symbol of energy and pure force; evil; corruption; sensuality; destruction; mystery; wisdom; the unconscious

33. Numbers Three: light; spiritual awareness and unity (The holy Trinity); the male principle Four: associated with the circle; life cycle; four seasons; female principle, earth, nature; four elements (earth, air, fire, water) Seven: the most potent of all symbolic numbers – signifies the union of three and four, the perfect order

34. Light vs Darkness Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination Darkness implies the unknown, ignorance or despair

35. Water vs Desert Water appears as birth or rebirth Desert appears as lack of life or death

36. Heaven vs Hell Heaven: the sky and mountain tops house the gods Hell: the bowels of the earth contain the diabolical force that inhabits this universe

37. Supernatural Intervention The gods intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against him

38. Fire vs Ice Fire represents light, life, rebirth Ice represents ignorance, darkness, sterility

39. Situational Archetypes

40. The Quest The search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore life to a wasted land, the lifelessness is mirrored by the leader’s illness and disability.

41. The Task to save the kingdom to win the fair lady to identify himself so he may reassume his rightful position …the hero must perform a superhuman deed

42. The Magic Weapon A tool or weapon that helps the hero to reach his ultimate goal.

43. The Rituals The actual ceremonies the initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state.

44. The Journey The journey sends the hero in search of some truth or information necessary to restore fertility to the kingdom.

45. The Fall A descent from a higher to a lower state of being; involves a loss of innocence.

46. The Unhealable Wound Indicates a loss of innocence, whether physical or psychological, it is a wound that will not fully heal

47. Archetypal Themes

48. Star-crossed Lovers or Forbidden Love is a phrase describing a pair of lovers whose relationship is often thwarted by outside forces. The term encompasses other meanings, but originally means the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship.

49. Rags to Riches/Transformation refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, or sometimes from obscurity to fame.

50. The Wicked Stepmother refers to the theme where the wicked stepmother kicks out the child that is left behind after the father dies.