Mythological and Archetypal Approaches By . Definitions and misconceptions The Masks of God, Joseph Campbell Mythological approach to literature Myth critic: mysterious elements (Literary works) Uncanny force Dramatic and universal human reactions Study in depth the wooden hawks of great literature: The archetypes or archetypal patterns that vibrate in such a way that a sympathetic resonance is set off deep within the reader Mythological criticism VS. Psychological approach Concerned with the motives that underlie human behavior MythologyPsychology Speculative& philosophicalExperimental& diagnostic Religion Anthropology Cultural history Biological science A peopleIndividual Misconceptions In fact, myths and literature reflect a more profound reality. Mark Schorer --- William Blake: The Politics of Vision Myth is 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 attitudes depend Alan W. Watts Myth is to be defined as a complex of storiessome no doubt fact, and some fantasywhich, for various reasons, human beings regard as demonstrations of the inner meaning of the universe and of human life Allen Tate The Language of Poetry myth is the expression of a profound sense of togetherness of feeling and of action and of wholeness of living Myths are by nature collective and communal and bind a tribe or a nation together in common psychological and spiritual activities For not only are whalemen as a body unexempt from that ignorance and superstitiousness hereditary to all sailors; but of all sailors, they are by all odds the most directly brought in to contact with whatever is appallingly astonishing in the sea; face to face they not only eye its greatest marvels, but, hand to jaw, give battle to them. ---chapter 41 Moby Dick Myth is ubiquitous in time as well as place. Archetypes motifs & images universal symbols Philip Wheelwright Metaphor and Reality such as the sky father and earth mother, light, blood, up-down, the axis of a wheel, and others . Some examples of archetypes A. Images 1. water ( commonest symbol): the mystery of creation; birth-death-resurrection; purification and redemption; fertility and growth a. the sea: the mother of all life; spiritual mystery and infinity; death and rebirth; timeless and eternity; the unconscious. b. rivers: death and rebirth(baptism); the flowing of time into eternity; transitional phases of the life cycle; incarnations of deities. 2. sun (fire and sky are closely related): creative energy; law in nature; consciousness; father principle, passage of time and life. a. rising sun: birth; creation; enlightenment. b. setting sun: death. 3. colors a. red: blood, sacrifice, violent passion; disorder. b. green: growth; sensation; hope; fertility; death and decay (in negative context) c. blue: positive truth, religious feeling, security, spiritual purity (the color of the Great Mother or Holy Mother) d. black (darkness): chaos, mystery, the unknown; death; e. white : positive aspects: light, purity, innocence, and timelessness; negative aspects: death, terror, the supernatural, and the blinding truth of an inscrutable cosmic mystery. White is the color of pure, virgin, but at the same time, it is the color of horror. The whiteness attributes to signify the mystery of universe. Though in many natural objects, whiteness retiringly enhances beauty, there yet lurks an elusive something in the innermost idea of this hue, This elusive quality it is, which causes the thought of whiteness, when divorced from more kindly associations, and coupled with any object terrible in itself, to heighten that terror to the furthest bounds. ---chapter 42 the Whiteness of the Whale 4. circle a. Mandala: a geometric figure based upon the squaring of a circle around a unifying center) The desire for spiritual unity and psychic integration. c. Yang-yin(representing the union of the opposite forces of the yang and the yin) : the yang (masculine principle, light, activity, the conscious mind) the yin (female principle,darkness, passivity, the unconscious) b. Egg(oval): the mystery of life and the force of generation. d. Ouroboros: Carl Jung interpreted the ouroboros as having an archetypal significance to the human psyche. The Jungian psychologist Erich Neumann writes of it as a representation of the pre-ego "dawn state", depicting the undifferentiated infancy experience of both mankind and the individual child. (Neumann, Erich. (1995). The Origins and History of Consciousness. Bollington series XLII: Princeton University Press. Originally published in German in 1949.) 5. Serpent (snake, worm): symbol of energy and pure force (libido) etc. Cf. Claudius 6.Numbers : the Father a. Three: the Holy Trinity the Son b. Four: four seasons; the Holy Spirit four elements c. Seven : union of three and four; perfect order And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.Ge 2:3 7. The archetypal woman Demeter, in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Ceres, in ancient Roman religion, was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. a. The Good Mother---birth, fertility, etc. b. The Terrible Mother---sensuality, death, the unconscious, etc. Siren, in Greek mythology, were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. c. The Soul Mate---inspiration and spiritual fulfillment the Jungian anima 8. The Wise Old Man Represent wisdom & moral qualities Appears when hero is in a hopeless and desperate situation. 9. The Trickster(shadow archetype) the opposite of the wise old man a positive function He is a forerunner of the saviour, and, like him, God, man, and animals at once. He is both subhuman and superhuman, a bestial and divine being (Jung, Archetypes 263) The trickster archetype is particularly notable in African American and American Indian cultures. 10. Garden paradise; innocence; unspoiled beauty; fertility 11.Tree ( life of the cosmos): inexhaustible life and symbol of immortality the cross of redemption as the tree of life in Christian iconography 12. Desert : spiritual aridity; death; nihilism, hopelessness. B. Archetypal Motifs or Patterns 1. Creation: how the cosmos, nature, and humankind were brought into existence 2. Immortality: a. Escape from time: return to paradise b. Mystical submersion into cyclical time 3. Hero archetypes( transformation&redemption) a. The quest: hero impossible tasks save kingdom b. Initiation: separation transformation return c. The sacrificial scapegoat: hero die to atone for peoples sins &restore the land to fruitfulness. C. Archetypes as Genres Northrop Frye--- Anatomy of Criticism The mythos of spring: comedy The mythos of summer: romance The mythos of fall: tragedy The mythos of winter: irony Myth is a structural organizing principle of literary from and archetype is essentially an element of ones literary experience. . MYTH CRITICISM IN PRACTICE Traditional critic vs. Myth critic History and the biography of the writer Prehistory and the biographies of the gods Formalistic critic vs. Myth critic Shape and symmetry of the work itself Inner spirit Freudian critic vs. Myth critic Artifact as the product of some sexual neurosis Manifestation of vitalizing, integrative forces A. Anthropology and Its Uses The influence of modern anthropology on myth critic. Cambridge Hellenists( ): R.R.Marett Anthropology and the Classics; Jane Harrison Themis; Gilbert Murray Euripides and His Age; F. M. Cornford Origin of Attic Comedy; Sir James G. Frazer The Golden Bough. The Golden Bough Aeneas and the Sibyl present the golden bough to the gatekeeper of Hades to gain admission. ---Joseph Marroad William Turner To define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat and many other symbols and practices. Central motif is the archetype of crucifixion and resurrection, specially the myths describing the killing of the divine king. Then man-god must be killed as soon as he shows symptoms that his powers are beginning to fail, and his soul must be transferred to a vigorous successor before it has been seriously impaired by threatened decay. Frazer claims that this legend of rebirth is central to almost all of the world's mythologies. Scapegoat archetype The motif: by transferring the corruptions of the tribe to a sacred animal or person, then by killing this scapegoat, the tribe could achieve the cleansing and atonement thought necessary for natural and spiritual rebirth. Cf. Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Mythological approach to drama Sophocless Oedipus Thebes : Laius(father) Jocasta(mother) Corinth : Polybus Merope Two archetypal motifs (1) In the quest motif (2) In the king-as-sacrificial-scapegoat motif