The Mythological and Archetypal Approach

By: Kristi, Grant, Parth, Ben, and Shrey

Mythology • Definition: a set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a particular group or the history of an event.

• Example of Greek Mythology

Mythology (cont.) • Mythology tends to be speculative and philosophical • such as involving: religion anthropology cultural history Note: Anthropology is the study of human beings

Mark Schorer • An American writer, novelist and critic • His definition of myth: “Myth is a fundamental, the dramatic representation of our deepest instinctual life, of a primary awareness of man in the universe, capable of many configurations, upon which all particular opinions and attitude depends.” (William Blake: The Politics of Vision 29)

Alan W. Watts • A philosopher, writer, speaker, and expert in comparative religion • His definition of Myth: “Myth is to be defined as a complex of stories some fantasy beings regard as life.” (7) — some no doubt fact, and —which for various reasons, human demonstrations of the inner meaning of the universe and of human

Archetypes • Archetype: An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned :Modifs and images that tend to elicit comparable psychological responses and serve similar cultural functions.

Examples of Archetypes •

Water:

-mystery of creation -birth -death -resurrection -purification -redemption -fertility -growth -unconsciousness

Sea: Symbolizes Mother of all life

River: Symbolizes death and rebirth; baptism

•

Sun:

-creative energy -law in nature -consciousness -thinking -enlightenment Sun (fire sky)

Rising Sun: symbolizes birth or creation

Setting sun: Symbolizes death

Colors as archetypes

RED

• Blood • Sacrifice • Violent passion • disorder

• Growth • Sensation • Hope • Fertility

GREEN

• Positive • Truth • Religions feeling

BLUE

• Chaos • Mystery • Unknown • Death • evil

BLACK

• Signifying • Light • Purity • innocence

WHITE

A circle is an archetype • Wholeness • Unity • Examples: -mandala -yang-yin - ouroboros

A Serpent

• Symbol of energy and pure force

Numbers as Archetypes

• Light • Spiritual awareness of unity

• Life circle • 4 seasons • Earth • Nature • elements

•

Completion of a cycle

•

Perfect order

Archetypical Woman • Good mother: nourishment, growth, warmth • Terrible mother: witch, fear, danger • Soul mate: beauty

Archetypal wise old man

• Knowledge • Insight • cleverness

Garden

•Unspoiled beauty •paradise

Desert

• Death • hopelessness

Archetypal Motifs and Patterns • Motif: a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

Creation • most fundamental of motifs • virtually every mythology is built on some account of how the nature was brought into existence by some supernatural being or beings

Immortality • Form 1: escape from time • Form 2: mystical submersion into cyclical time (endless death)

Hero Archetypes • The quest: hero undertakes some long journey where they perform impossible tasks

Hero archetypes (cont.) • Initiation: hero under goes ordeals in passing from ignorance and maturity • 3 phases 1. separation 2. transformation 3. return

Hero archetypes (cont.)

•

Sacrificial scapegoat: hero must die for peoples sins and restore land to fruitfulness

Archetypes genres 1. Mythos of spring- comedy 2. Mythos of summer- romance 3. Mythos of fall- tragedy 4. Mythos of winter- irony

To His Coy Mistress • Uses archetypes of time and immortality Stanza 1 line1 “had we but world enough, and time….” Line 8 “Love you ten years before the flood.” Line 13 “ An hundred years should go to praise.” Line 15 “ two hundred to adore each breast,” Line 16 “ But thirty thousand to the rest.” Each of these lines refers to their love for each other for all of eternity. It applies to the archetype motif of immortality in the form of escaping from time.

To His Coy Mistress (cont.) • Stanza 2 Line 22 “Times winged chariot hurrying near:” This references to the myth of how a winged chariot comes to bring one to heaven.

Line 24 “Deserts of vast eternity.” Once again this refers to the archetype of escaping from time

To His Coy Mistress (cont.) • Stanza 3 Line 40 “Than languish in his slow-chapped power.” Line 46 “Stand still, yet we will make him run.” Both of these lines bring up an undefined him. This goes along with the Greek mythology of one who is above all humans.

Line 44 “ Thorough the iron gates of life:” The iron gates of life are symbolizing the gates to heaven in mythology

A Farewell to Arms • Rain is a major archetype in A Farewell to Arms.

• It is a pattern that whenever it rains there is death • Pg 4 the narrator tells how it is raining, then he goes on to say how 7000 people died of cholera in the army.

A Farewell to Arms (cont.) • Also, when one of the soldiers is killed by the mortar shell, the narrator happens to mention that it is raining.

• Furthermore, in the end when Catherine dies, Frederic leaves the hospital in the rain

A Farewell to Arms (cont.) • Throughout the book, it is snowing which shows that it takes place during the winter • The Archetype genre of winter is irony • Frederic finally finding a woman he cares about, and for her to just die at the end is ironic.

A Farewell to Arms (cont.) • In the book, Frederic jumps in a river to escape from being shot.

• The archetype of a river is death, rebirth, or baptism.

• In several critics, critics have questioned his jumping in the river as a reference to baptism.

• However, it could be viewed as rebirth too, since Frederic is leaving all his friends and tries to start a new life with him and Catherine.