Archetypes In Perseus Essay

In the work of literature “The Siren Song,” we notice a variety of archetypes, despite the lack of characters. An archetype is a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.

The Goddess Persephone was a very beautiful and well worshiped goddess, she was loved by all, do to how she was very kind and caring as well as being able to bring warmth to the earth also known as spring. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus the king of all gots and the daughter of Demeter the goddess of the harvest. Indeed she was very beautiful, or at least enough to catch the eye of the ruler of the underworld. He then fell instantly in love with her and knew he had to have her. So he devised a plan to take her as his own. One day Persephone was picking flowers for her mother Demeter when she noticed a beautiful scent and decide to follow it. After wandering off from the field she looked up at birds fluttering and suddenly the sky began to

In Homers epic poem “The Odyssey” there are many archetypes, many of which were the origin of the archetype. An archetype is a character type, place, or symbol, every culture shares. In “The Odyssey” Homer uses archetypes to evoke meaning to the story. Some examples of archetypes in “The Odyssey” are the temptress, and the father-son conflict.

Throughout the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, classic storytelling through archetypes is reworked into a more modern time in order to create the unique gem that it is. Archetypes are a general persona of a character that is repeated many times through films and literature, they define the character and give meaning to their roles. Archetypes have been used ever since stories were made, from the Odyssey to even Percy Jackson. Archetypes tend to set the stage for the story, and get revealed throughout the story adding more life and energy to it. Three examples of archetypes expressed very well through characters in the movie are the hero, the alter ego, and the temptress.

When Orpheus is being done inside the novel, an actor plays his part: “And as though the singer had been waiting for this cue…he chose this moment to stagger grotesquely to the footlights, his arms and legs splayed out under his antique robe, and fall down in the middle of the property sheepfold” (201). In this case, the actor playing Orpheus can be seen as the actual Orpheus in the myth because he goes to do what he loves, acting, even though it is risky for him because it is assumed that he is sick with the plague. Although the actor does die from the plague, he still went to dangerous lengths to achieve his passion, like Orpheus actually does in the myth when he goes to retrieve Eurydice. In addition, the reader can now see that Orpheus and Eurydice represent all of the couples throughout the novel, and is able to see examples earlier in the novel of characters going against extreme conditions, and the possibility of death because of circumstances against their will, to be with their love. An example of this is when the town is first closed off, because citizens are not allowed to leave, only come in, and only one person does decide to enter: “At the height of the epidemic we saw only one case in which natural emotions overcame the fear of death in a particularly painful form…The two were old Dr. Castel and his wife...But this

Sarah Ruhl’s play, Eurydice, is a devastating story battling love, grief, life, and death. Although it is set during the 1950’s, the play manages to encompass the ancient Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus. The three most evident themes of this play are recurring death, fleeting happiness, and the power of love. The main conflict in this play is ultimately about the painful choice that comes with death; this is often caused by the King of the Underworld. One of the most impressive parts of this play is the ability to change the way the play is perceived through design.

With every corner we turn in today’s culture, we become more and more aware of the archetypes that surround us. Archetypes are the works of a typical character, situation, setting, or symbol that can be found in fantasy and reality. An example would be the renowned medieval story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet. The author permeates the story with situational, symbolic, and character archetypes that illustrate the profound life of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain was apprehensive of his journey at first, but as time passes, he began to make choices that unveils to the audience the true flawed knight that he was.

Orpheus was the Beethoven of the Greek world, everybody loved his music. Everywhere he went, people listened to his music and loved it. Eurydice was Orpheus’ number one stalker/fan. They fell in love but Eurydice died one day, from a snake bite. Orpheus’ mad love for Eurydice ended up sending him to Tartarus and all he had to do was to bring Eurydice out of the underworld without looking at her. However, he was filled with doubt and he turned to look at her, losing her forever.

Now that he had returned peace to the Olympus and was finally done with his quest, he had the choice of returning home or staying at the camp to train. He chose to go home to the mortal world, but is going to return next summer. Since there are several more books, I can safely assume that he is going to go on more adventures.

An archetype is defined as an image, story-pattern, character, setting, symbol, or situation that recurs frequently in literature and in life. It demonstrates universal human experiences and associates strongly with readers through a subconscious understanding. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the main character, Gilgamesh, is an example of a superheroic archetypal hero. He took on an epic quest for everlasting life by following the archetypal steps of a hero’s journey. Through suffering due to tragedy, realizing the nature of his quest, seeking help from a mentor, experiencing failure, and returning home with a companion, Gilgamesh’s story followed the situational archetype of a hero’s journey.

Archetype refers to a generic version of a personality. Archetypes are continually present in folklore and literature for thousands of years, including prehistoric artwork. The identification of archetypes in literature is to primarily find the behaviors and characteristics of the main protagonist, it is important to discover the ambiguity of how the traits change and develop throughout the rising

In the process him trying to escape the doctors, Orpheus finds a scarf stuck in the elevator that he believes belongs to Eurydice. Upon finding this, he races up stairs in an attempt to meet her when the elevator doors open. Once he reaches the point where the elevator stops, he is very disappointed at what he sees. To his dismay, the woman he has been chasing up numerous of stairs is not Eurydice. At this point of the scene, I believe that Orpheus is traveling through the second river of the underworld, Acheron, which is the river of woe. Orpheus is in such despair when he realizes that the woman on the elevator is not Eurydice. His body language as he walks from the hospital is full of wretchedness. Benedito reaches out and holds his lifeless hand in support.

Heroes are those who have gone above what the average person would do to ensure the welfare of others. Natural disasters, terrorism, poverty, and war are some of the many things that destroy and end people’s lives. Throughout history, many people have made a difference. However, as history progresses, what we consider to be socially normal changes along with our definition of a hero. In Ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus were considered heroes, but today only Theseus and Perseus would be considered heroes because Hercules would be shunned by society.

The traditions of storytelling have long been used as a means to impart wisdom and life lessons to others. One of the most effective ways in which this is done is through the use of archetypes. While it is possible to look at these images in a general way, one may also focus an analysis on a single tale. In this way it is possible to explore the particular images used and their significance in a given situation, (often a coming of age rite of

Archetypes are used in literature to portray a certain meaning, that helps create a better and more meaningful story. The archetypes used can be embedded in the characters, symbols, or even rituals involved in a story. These archetypes can help give deeper meaning to the story by giving a underlying reference to concepts that are used over and over again in literature throughout history. When an author uses an archetype in his or her writing, they link it to many other stories that use that same archetype. Some do this for a reason, to give an underlying meaning, to symbolized something of importance, or even just to make their story more interesting. Many readers may not notice the underlying archetype, but sometimes the author uses them because he or she knows that the reader will.