Wednesday, March 24, 2010

#83 archetype

#83 archetype- a perfect or typical specimen; an original model or pattern; one of the inherited mental images postulated by Jung as the content of the collective unconscious; a constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, etc.

- C17 from Latin archetypum, from Greek arkhetupon; adj.- archetypal, archetypical

Some story archetypes include the hero, maiden, sage, magician, earth mother, witch, sorceress, trickster...

I look at the story, I look at the idea and just try to think of it in terms of that whole body of myth and see where the characters fit in and what they ought to be doing-all those archetypes are there to play with. ~ John Boorman

Most religious stories and mythologies have some sort of similar root, some sort of global archetypes. ~ Maynard James Keenan

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