Northrop frye has been the most influential of those critics who have argued that archetypal patterns underlie the modes, plots and genres of literary works. Individuation is a psychological growing up, the process of discovering those aspects of ones self that make one an individual different from other members of the species. Archetypes are the unknowable basic forms personified or concretized in recurring images, symbols, or patterns which may include motifs such as the quest or the heavenly ascent. Archetypal criticism for students jenks public schools. Archetype according to carl jung, an archetype is a primordial image residing in the collective unconscious of a people, expressed in literature, myth, folklore and ritual.
According to carl jung, thesepatterns are embedded deep in thecollective unconscious and involveracial memories of situations,events, relationships. I mean by an archetype a symbol which connects one poem with another and thereby helps to unify and integrate our literary. Archetypal literary criticism shadow psychology unconscious. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Of the archetypes comprising the collective unconscious what jung later called the objective psyche, that of the self is the central governing archetype. Jungs primary contribution to myth criticism is his theory of racial memory and archetypes. But we law in the first essay that, as the modes of fiction move from the mythical to the low mimetic and ironic, they approach a point of extreme realism or. Archetypal criticism a companion to literary theory. Archetypal literary criticism basic premises of archetypal theory.
An archetypal criticism is a type of a literary theory that interprets the text using symbols, motifs, myths, characters, and situations. Criticism, include a brief overview of close reading and a lengthy list of literary terms for students. The structural principles of literature, similarly, are to be derived from archetypal and anagogic criticism, the only kinds that assume a larger context of literature as a whole. It is based on carl gustav jungs 18751961 psychological theory. The postcolonial lens and heart of darkness 177 activity 20. A literary movement that started in the late 1920s and 1930s and originated in reaction to traditional criticism that new critics saw as largely concerned with matters extraneous to the text, e. In his remarkable and influential book anatomy of criticism 1957, n. What was the jungian psychology behind archetypal criticism, in particular its theory of the individuation process and the role of archetypes in this pro cess. Study 54 terms archetypal theory flashcards quizlet. But jungs theory of the archetypes of the collective unconscious differs from fryes theory of the archetype as based in bodily desire and the imagination, as presented in his books fearful symmetry 1947 and anatomy of criticism 1957. Arranged by topic rather than chronology, in order to highlight the relationships between earlier and most. Archetypal criticism literary theory and criticism. Archetypal criticism a companion to literary theory wiley online. Carl jungs archetypal psychology, literature, and ultimate.
James hillman would later locate the archetypes of literature and myth within the process of imagination rather than in a physiological source in the genes. Oct 22, 2015 an archetypal analysis of lorraine hansberrys a raisin in the sun and tennessee williams a glass menagerie. Myth criticism of northrop frye literary theory and criticism. Literary theory many, many dissertations have been written about what exactly literary theory is, but to put it briefly, literary theory describes different approaches to studying literature. Pdf archetypal literary theory in the postmodern era.
Either way, the myth critic believes a literary texts effectiveness to be primarily a function of its mythic resonance. The concept of the archetype is a venerable philosophical principle that came into new prominence and usage in the twentieth century with the development of archetypal literary criticism through the theories of psychologist c. Consider how satan, pretending to be an ally, appeared in the form of a serpent in the garden of eden. In his major work, the anatomy of criticism, he states. Archetypal criticism it is a type of criticaltheory that interprets a text byfocusing on recurring myths andarchetypes in the narrative,symbols, images, and charactertypes in a literary work. Others believe that literary individuality is ignored with so much emphasis on cycles and patterns. Introduction to modern literary theory kristi siegel. Feb 19, 20 archetypal criticism it is a type of criticaltheory that interprets a text byfocusing on recurring myths andarchetypes in the narrative,symbols, images, and charactertypes in a literary work.
Archetypal literary criticism archetypal criticism proceeds from the initial assumption that every work of literature can be categorized and fitted into a large framework that encompasses all literature. The critic is at the center of interpretive activity, and the critic functions as teacher, interpreter. Archetypal literary criticism essay 1614 words bartleby. Archetypal criticism a companion to literary theory wiley. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory.
The archetypes of literature northrop frye ugc net english. Introduces readers to the modes of literary and cultural study of the previous half century a companion to literary theory is a collection of 36 original essays, all by noted scholars in their field, designed to introduce the modes and ideas of contemporary literary and cultural theory. Swiss psychiatrist, carl jung came up with the idea that all humans have a collective unconscious that shares the same. The students guide to using archetypal literary criticism by. The book in your hands simply could not be made long.
How do various elements of the work reinforce its meaning. How does archetypal criticism approach literary text. Mar 21, 2016 home anthropology myth criticism of northrop frye. There is usually at least one character who exemplifies this archetype in a story. The golden bough made a mark not only on the study of history, mythology, and anthropology but also on literature. The collective unconscious is a set of shared memories. Carl jungs archetypal psychology, literature, and ultimate meaning david j. Compensating for rigid or overly nghteous collective attitudes, it functions collectively as a cathartic safety valve for pentup social pressures, a reminder of humankinds primitive origins and the faliibility of its iustitutions 286. English core paper methodology of literature en5b03 methodology of literature pdf to download the material click on the above link topics covered russian formalism, new criticism, archetypal criticism, myth criticism, deconstruction, poststructuralism, reader response read more. Archetypalmythological criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, that a texts. Mar 23, 2016 the archetypes literature northrop frye the archetypes literature northrop frye.
Archetypal literary criticism is concerned to analyzing a text in concern to the myths and archetypes that could be in the text in the form of description, symbols, images, allusions, references, characteristic traits, etc. Mar 31, 2009 archetypal criticism a critical approach to literature slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The proponents of each theory believe their theory is the theory, but most of us interpret texts according to the rules of several different theories at a time. Mythological and archetypal criticism linkedin slideshare. Archetypal criticism a critical approach to literature slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Harper lees to kill a mockingbird reflects archetypal criticism in order to have a better understanding of the forms of the literary works and to approach the text in a different way.
Archetypal literary criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, and therefore, that a texts meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths. Introduction to literary theory powerpoint sample pdf. Archetypal literary criticism basic premises of archetypal. Some archetypal characters are well knownthe hero, for instancewhile others, such as the sage, are discussed less frequently outside of literary circles. Archetypal definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
They both address ways of looking at literature beyond the typical plotthemecharactersetting studies. An archetypal analysis of lorraine hansberrys a raisin in the sun and tennessee williams a glass menagerie. Both sets of theories profoundly influenced twentieth. In developing this concept, jung expanded freuds theories of the personal unconscious, asserting that beneath this is a primeval, collective unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family. Archetypal criticism depends heavily on symbols and patterns operating on a universal scale. A sampling of critical lenses literary theories were developed as a means to understand the various ways people read texts. As an acknowledged form of literary criticism, it dates back to 1934 when maud bodkin. Mythological and archetypal approaches rutgers university.
Essentially, literary theories are lenses that a reader can apply in order to view a text in a new light. Jan 30, 2018 but jungs theory of the archetypes of the collective unconscious differs from fryes theory of the archetype as based in bodily desire and the imagination, as presented in his books fearful symmetry 1947 and anatomy of criticism 1957. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction. Carl jung and archetypes myth is the natural and indispensable intermediate stage between unconscious and conscious cognition. Archetypal literary theory arguably commenced with carl jung, and was later expanded upon by northrop frye dobson, 2005. Archetypal criticism argues that archetypes determine the form and function of literary works, that a texts meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths. Formalistic approach this approach focuses on form, stressing symbols, images, and structure and how one part of the work relates to other parts and to the whole. Archetypal literary theory focuses on recurring archetypes, patterns, symbls and myths in literatuhre. Someone or something that is archetypal has all the most important characteristics of a.
We pretty much have to teach our class how to do a certain literary criticism using a presentation and some type of skitgame. I consider the literary theories of northrop frye and a postmodern feminist critique of his work. Archetypal literary criticism is a type of critical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths and archetypes from the greek arche, beginning, and typos, imprint in the narrative, symbols, images, and character types in literary works. Freud believed that eventually, the girls spurned advances toward the father give way to a desire to possess a man like her father later in life. Archetypes are the unknowable basic forms personified or concretized in recurring images, symbols, or patterns which may include motifs such as the quest or. Archetypal literary criticism is a type of critical theory that interprets a text by focusing on recurring myths and archetype from the greek arche, beginning, and typos, imprint in the narrative, symbols, images, and character types in literary work. But jungs theory of the archetypes of the collective unconscious. An energy that allows characters to occupy various archetypal roles on the wheel. Yeats a thesis in theatre presented to the faculty of the university of missourikansas city in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by benjamin e. Archetypalmythological criticism argues that archetypes determine. One major contribution is jungs theory of individuation as related to those archetypes designated as the shadow, the persona, and the anima. In this article, i will examine the status and value of carl jungs theories of archetypal psychology, especially their relation to ultimate issues in literature and in religious studies. Northrop fryes anatomy of criticism 1957 introduced the archetypal approach called myth criticism, combining the typological interpretation of the bible and the conception of imagination prevalent in the writings of william blake.
Archetypal literary criticism took root in the rich soil of other academic. Some critics argue the theory is unnecessary because archetypal approaches to literature can also be covered in psychology, anthropology, comparative religion, and other fields. While some archetypes lend themselves most readily to protagonists or villains, its worth noting that any of these archetypes can apply to good, bad, major, or minor characters. Additional chapter on postmodern literary criticism finally, this cd also offers an extra chapter on the most complicated of critical lenses, postmodern literary theory. Death of a salesman and the social construction of gender 174 activity 19. Theorys weaknesseslimitations many critics are leery of the actual value of the archetypal approach. Archetypal criticism moved into the sphere of literary analysis following maud. I hypothesize that a more fully jungian perspective on archetypal. Freud believed that the impact of the unconscious, id, ego, superego, the defenses, and the oedipus complex was inescapable and that these elements of the mind influence all our behavior and even.
Jung believed in a collective unconscious that lay deep within all of us and contained the cumulative knowledge, experiences, and images of the entire human race bressler. Though frye does not credit a jungian archetypal analysis to his work, jung for the most part, clearly addressed the topic of using literature to in practical terms. Frye developed the archetypal approach into a radical and comprehensive revision of traditional grounds both in the theory of literature and the practice of literary criticism. For many years thereafter, jungs work would continue to gain acclaim, and even today remains active in modified form. The terms literary theory and critical theory refer to essentially the same fields of study. Jung held it to be the overall blueprint for our wholeness. Literary theory and schools of criticism introduction a very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. Myth criticism of northrop frye by nasrullah mambrol on march 21, 2016 3. Archetypal literary criticism free download as pdf file. An archetype is the repetition of an idea or concept that is repeated over a large scale of time through many mediums literature and film, etc. True, the unconscious knows more than the consciousness does. Contemporary literary theory and shrek 180 activity 21.
883 822 1117 380 441 741 674 322 1252 793 415 1652 1589 700 537 786 543 67 1544 1104 1666 1457 1085 954 983 906 1397 1001 457 264 926 133 1340 591 519