[what? talking about the craft underlying the mythos? can't we just hunker down around a fire, gaze deep into the embers, and let ourselves -- quite bemused -- a tale tell for the ages? Oh, I see, you think that tinder and a well laid fire is more likely to make good use of the sparks of inspiration... well, get on with it then:-]
based on The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler ISBN 0-941188-13-2
Having looked quickly at the "general plot" of the hero's journey, Vogler now looks at seven archetypes -- the characters that are met along the path of the hero's journey.
(P. 33) "... in describing these common character types, symbols, and relationships the Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung employed the term archetypes, meaning ancient patterns of personality that are the shared heritage of the human race."
"The concept of archetypes is an indispensable tool for understanding the purpose or function of characters in a story. If you grasp the function of the archetype which a particular character is expressing, it can help you determining if the character is pulling her full weight in the story. The archetypes are part of the universal language of storytelling, and a command of their energy is as essential to the writer as breathing."
(P. 34) "Looking at the archetypes in this way, as flexible character functions rather than as rigid character types, can liberate your storytelling. It explains how a character in a story can manifest the qualities of more than one archetype. The archetypes can be thought of as masks, worn by the characters temporarily as they are needed to advance the story...."
(P. 36) The most common and useful archetypes: Hero Mentor (Wise Old Man or Woman) Threshold Guardian Herald Shapeshifter Shadow Trickster
There are many other archetypes, many other human qualities that are dramatized in stories.
Vogler next has sections about each of the archetypes. For this exercise, we will briefly review what he says about the hero... and save the others for later.
(P. 39) "A Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others, like a shepherd who will sacrifice to protect and serve his flock. At the root the idea of Hero is connected with self-sacrifice."
Psychological Function
"In psychological terms, the archetype of the hero represents what Freud called the ego -- that part of the personality that separates from the mother; that considers itself distinct from the rest of the human race. Ultimately, a Hero is one who is able to transcend the bounds and illusions of the ego, but at first, Heroes are all ego; the I, the one, that personal identity which thinks it is separate from the rest of the group. The journey of many Heroes is the story of that separation from the family or tribe, equivalent to a child's sense of separation from the mother."
"The Hero archetype represents the ego's search for identity and wholeness...."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zaluzianskya and ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
skylark_photos
Writer's Journey (Part Two)
Date: 2008-02-01 05:04 am (UTC)[what? talking about the craft underlying the mythos? can't we just hunker down around a fire, gaze deep into the embers, and let ourselves -- quite bemused -- a tale tell for the ages? Oh, I see, you think that tinder and a well laid fire is more likely to make good use of the sparks of inspiration... well, get on with it then:-]
based on The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler ISBN 0-941188-13-2
Having looked quickly at the "general plot" of the hero's journey, Vogler now looks at seven archetypes -- the characters that are met along the path of the hero's journey.
(P. 33) "... in describing these common character types, symbols, and relationships the Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung employed the term archetypes, meaning ancient patterns of personality that are the shared heritage of the human race."
"The concept of archetypes is an indispensable tool for understanding the purpose or function of characters in a story. If you grasp the function of the archetype which a particular character is expressing, it can help you determining if the character is pulling her full weight in the story. The archetypes are part of the universal language of storytelling, and a command of their energy is as essential to the writer as breathing."
(P. 34) "Looking at the archetypes in this way, as flexible character functions rather than as rigid character types, can liberate your storytelling. It explains how a character in a story can manifest the qualities of more than one archetype. The archetypes can be thought of as masks, worn by the characters temporarily as they are needed to advance the story...."
(P. 36) The most common and useful archetypes:
Hero
Mentor (Wise Old Man or Woman)
Threshold Guardian
Herald
Shapeshifter
Shadow
Trickster
There are many other archetypes, many other human qualities that are dramatized in stories.
Vogler next has sections about each of the archetypes. For this exercise, we will briefly review what he says about the hero... and save the others for later.
(P. 39) "A Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others, like a shepherd who will sacrifice to protect and serve his flock. At the root the idea of Hero is connected with self-sacrifice."
Psychological Function
"In psychological terms, the archetype of the hero represents what Freud called the ego -- that part of the personality that separates from the mother; that considers itself distinct from the rest of the human race. Ultimately, a Hero is one who is able to transcend the bounds and illusions of the ego, but at first, Heroes are all ego; the I, the one, that personal identity which thinks it is separate from the rest of the group. The journey of many Heroes is the story of that separation from the family or tribe, equivalent to a child's sense of separation from the mother."
"The Hero archetype represents the ego's search for identity and wholeness...."
[to be continued]