The Art of Archetypes An archetype is a universally understood symbol, character, or situation pattern. It is seen everywhere in literature, from ancient folklore to the same stories that we read today. These patterns and personalities are extremely generic and can be found almost everywhere. The idea of an archetype was further
perfected in 1919 by Swiss Psychologist, Carl Jung. Jung believed that a person's psych is composed of many different archetypes, which represented personality and patterns of behavior. The most universally known archetype is the hero. This hero usually was innocent and pure of heart at the beginning of the story, and had to go on a quest to complete a task that was necessary to achieve peace in a kingdom, community, or even within himself. The hero is an example of a characteristic archetype. Here, situational and symbolic archetypes found in two extremely famous works, Walt Disney's "The Lion King" and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth are examined. The three archetypes that will be studied are light vs. darkness, supernatural intervention and the battle between good and evil. Through video clips, pictures, and written explanations, this site will help to discover and understand the way that these three archetypes are used within these works. The quote: “So fair and foul a day I have not seen” (Shakespeare i.iii.38) will relate to each section of this site. As you browse, think of how this quote can relate to each archetype. Click here to enter the content of this site and begin examining the first archetype- light vs. darkness. |
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