Oliver Stanton

Mr. Steen

11 December 2002

Period 3

Archetypal Criticism

Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function and the image of literary works. Archetypal criticism also states that the meaning of a text is shown by cultural and psychological myths and stereotypes. Archetypes, which are recurring images, symbols, patterns, and characters such as a good and a bad character, may include motifs such as the quest as that of the quest for the holy grail, recognizable character types such as good character or bad character or the clumsy side kick, symbols like the apple or snake, numbers like three or seven, or images used. These images already have meaning when they are placed into the story.

This type of criticism comes from the psychologist Carl Jung. He stated that human kind has a “collective unconscious.” This is “manifested in dreams, myths and harbors themes and images that we all inherit. Literature, therefore, imitates not the world but rather the "total dream of humankind.””(http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/archetypal.crit.html). This is saying that literature reflects all of human kind.

Archetypal critics think of different types of criticism such as New Criticism as too involved simply with the text. These critics feel as though New Criticism is too purely literary and should not only look at the text. By only using the words and not your own mind to interpret the play or writing you will not get everything that is hidden in the text. Using archetypal criticism we can stereotype the text. We read and watch things from movies and books such as black hats, springtime settings, evil stepmothers, etc. When reading texts that are new to you then you can associate different sections and images in that reading with other things that you have read beforehand. This shows that a reader cannot solely rely on the text and the words on the paper but rather the reader must consider the deeper meaning and the stereotypes and archetypes in the reading not just in the text.

By using archetypes the writer can let the reader connect with the archetypes of their time such as in movies and as well as in reading such as using basic beliefs, fears, and anxieties of their age. By connecting the reader to the archetypal symbols and images the reader can more fully connect with the reading and the images in the reading and also on the movies. By using a different criticism such as New Criticism you may not be able to fully connect with the readers emotions and thoughts. If the reader is only thinking about translating the words on the paper in criticism such as New Criticism then they will not connect with the text and the author. With archetypal Criticism the reader can do this. By using images seen in other texts and movies and ones that are related to the readers time can draw the reader into the writing.

There are many examples of Archetypal criticism found in the movies, in writings, and other things such as poems, etc. Such examples can be found in the play Hamlet, and it is most obvious especially in movies where there is a hero and an evil villain such as all of the Austin Powers movies. The movie Austin Powers is based on Archetypes and by using Archetypal criticism the person watching the movie can get more involved with it than other types of criticism. The archetypal hero is Austin Powers as he defeats Dr. Evil in the first and second movie and saves the day. Dr. Evil is the archetypal evil villain because he is trying to destroy the world either with a large laser or with a giant drill. As in most good verses evil movies and writings the good almost always wins and the evil is stomped out at least until the next episode comes out. This type of theme is present in close to every other movie that uses this good verses evil theme.

The other aspect most often used in the archetypal theme is the sidekick. In the animated cartoon The Tick there is your archetypal hero and your evil villains, in this case there are more than one evil villain, and you also have a handy sidekick. The hero is The Tick and his sidekick is named The Moth. The sidekick is normally the opposite in character from the hero. For example, if the hero is clumsy then the sidekick is smart and crafty and vice versa. This applies to cartoons and comedies a lot but in serious shows, movies, and books the sidekick and the hero are not as prominent and may both be intelligent and intuitive.

There is also an archetypal criticism in the play Macbeth. In my mind I see that Macbeth is the evildoer throughout the entire play. He is not always this way, which is the idea that puts a twist to the play. Macbeth is a good guy until the ladies turn him evil in the black pointy hats and he is then the villain who kills Duncan the king. We do not see the true hero of the play until the end of the play when Mac Duff comes into action. He is the person that kills Macbeth and restores order to the kingdom. He is the true hero who prevails and brings life back to the goodness while the evil villain is put to death and taken out of the picture. Mac Duff shows that he is going to be the hero by saying, “I have no words. My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain than terms can give thee out!” They then fight showing that he is a valiant and brave hero and soldier. Macbeth says, “I will not yield,” and dies to finish up the archetypal destiny.

Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function and the image of literary works and it states that the meaning of a text is shown by cultural and psychological myths and stereotypes. These archetypes are seen in many types of movies, books, and show and can be related to other images seen in previous movies and texts. Archetypal criticism more fully brings the reader into the text and the movie and the show by actually using motifs and images that the reader and viewer can relate to and that he or she has seen many times before. With New Criticism you can only decipher what the words on the page are saying but with archetypal you can dive into the deeper meaning of the characters and themes.