Symbols and Archetypes

7/27/2019 Symbols and Archetypes

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(Universal Symbols)


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something that means more than what it is object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its

literal meaning suggests other meanings as well


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Zero

the indivisible unit Buddhist void

symbolic of the eternal cycle

One

Unity individual importance

the sun = # 1 as a symbol of life and wholeness.

Two

duality; separation; conflict

dichotomy of sun and moon

male and female

life and death

good vs. evil


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Three

unity of the trinity three fates, spinning the threads

birth/childhood old age/death Christian theology: Holy TrinityFatherSon--Holy Ghost

Four

order and symmetry

fourcardinal points:fourelements : air, water, earth, & fire

four quarters of the moon =

birth, development, maturity, & death

middle age


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Five

man: (like da Vincis Vitruvian Man) the human microcosm or natural man equals

two arms, two legs, and a head

five fingers, toes, and senses

Six

harmony; balance (two 3s)

love, beauty, romance, harmony, balance between male and female

principles


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Seven: entirety (7 Deadly Sins)

Biblical creation 7visible planets (before the discovery of

Uranus, Neptune, and the now-non-planet-Pluto)

In alchemy, each of the 7 planets = a metal:

sun = gold

moon = silver

Mercury = quicksilver

Venus = copper

Mars = iron

Jupiter = tin

Saturn = lead


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Eight

universal order (two 4s) an infinity symbol

worlds of the conscious, unconscious, & the loop

which flows back & forth between them

8 spokes of the ancient wheel held the center andouter rim together

Christian baptismal fonts octagonal

8 = rebirth through baptismin sacred water


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Nine = Harmony

divine perfection (three 3s)

in numerology, 9 = the end of a 9-year cycle

In biology, 9 = 9-month gestation cycle

Dantes Divine Comedy: 9 circles of hell

reflect 9 circles of heaven

The 9 muses of Greek mythology

Ten = spiritual achievement

solidarity among creatures & things linked by the laws ofnature

reappearance of the Monad from zero,indicating the beginning of a new cycle at ahigher level of awareness


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Eleven = a master number:

the eleventh hour time for church

11thsign of the zodiac = Aquarius, thewater bearer

Positively = inventor,

originator, & pioneer

Negatively = conformity to herd,

tribe, or groupPromethean attitude: courage necessary to

go forth as a pioneer


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Twelve = universal fulfillment

four points of the compass

(earth) times the Trinity (heaven)

circle of wholeness: 12 = # of the zodiac

months of the year

original tribes of Israel

gods of Olympia

Thirteen = death

Unlucky (originating with Judas, Jesus, & thetwelve disciples)

13th book of Revelation has as its theme theAnti-Christ

13th card in the tarot deck is Death


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Forty

spiritual order (4 x 10)

often used Biblically

Whitepurity

Grayambiguity

Blueserenity

Reddanger, energy,

passion

Blackevil, death

Purpleroyalty

Greennature; new

life

Yellowhappiness;decay, disease

colors


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Applefertility;

temptation Grapesabundance

Pineapplefertility

Peachmarriage

Cherryimmortality Figfertility

Plumindependence

Poppysleep

Lilypurity Roselove

Daisyinnocence

Cypressdeath

Oakstrength Olivepeace

Palmprotection

Willowforsaken love

Cedarincorruptible Yewresurrection

Pine coneimmortality

Aspenlamentation

Acornpotential


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Dogloyalty Catmalevolence Cowmotherhood Bullfertility Pigunclean; greed Donkeystupidity Ramvirility Sheepblindness; stupidity Snakesatanic Crocodile/Alligatordeath Turtlecarries its world; wise; perseverance FishJesus Seahorsegood luck Whalepower Shellgood luck Conch shellpower of sound Snailrenewal; slowness Cock (Rooster)morning; fire; virility Peacockroyalty Ostrichstupidity Cuckooadultery; spring Dovepeace Swangrace Storkgood luck Spiderlife; fate Butterflychange; rebirth Antindustriousness


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Circle; wheelcycle of life; never-ending

Triangletrinity

Crownroyalty; nobility

Stardivine presence

Sunhappiness; light; masculine

Moonlight in darkness; feminine; cyclical


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Rainlife; just and fair: falls on good & evil alikePlot device: cleanses characters; forces themtogether; restorative precipitation; removes stainsFall into mud = more stained than beforeCloudsmist; concealment;Fogconfusion; miasma; murkyRainbowpeace; harmony; promiseSnow: clean/stark; severe/ warm ; playful/suffocatinginhospitable/invitingSpringbirth; life; : renewal, hope, new awakeningsSummergrowth; ripeningFallmaturity Winterdeath

Elementsearth, air, fire, water


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a recurrent device, image, object, phrase,

word, incident, situation, or action

used to unify a work

Certain motifs occur frequently

repeated in many works e.g.: hero saving the damsel in distress

Leitmotif:

motif specific to a particular work Big Brother in 1984

Phrase Catch 22 from the Joseph Hellernovel of the same name


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an original pattern or model of which all things

of the same type are representations or copies1. Situations:

Initiationan individual understands his/herresponsibility; often a rite of passage into

adulthood (e.g.: Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur)Transcendencesometimes the initiate

undergoes an ordeal and assumes a new role asan adult. (e.g.: Stephen Dedalus in Portrait of the Artist asa Young Man)

Taskan extraordinary feat that must beaccomplished to save the day. (e.g.: Arthur pulls thesword from the stone to become king of England).


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Questthe search for someone or something

needed to save the day (e.g.: the Holy Grail) Journeythe difficulties that the hero must

undergo to accomplish the task, usually involvingtravel (e.g.: The Canterbury Tales, The Odyssey)

Ritualan official ceremony; may be part of theinitiation or rite of passage (e.g.: weddings, graduation)

Fallloss of innocence or afall from grace which oftenincludes expulsion from paradise (e.g.: Adam and Eve)

Deathlike in the cycles of nature, an actual or spiritualdeath, equated with evening and the seasons of fall andwinter

Rebirthagain like nature, renewal, equated with

morning and the seasons of spring and summer


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Communionwhenever characters eat

or drink togetherBreaking bread together = act of sharing and peaceMeal scenes show how characters are/arent getting

alongMeals: show the bonds between characters Failed meal = bad sign Interlopers : cause other characters to lose

their appetite

Meal sharers = loyalty, kinship, generosity


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Flightone of the temptations of Christ

In general, flight = freedom (from specificcircumstances)

Or, = escape (from general burdens tying usdown)

Also, = spirituality In poetry: freedom of birds contrasts

w/earthbound cares & woes of humans

Flight = the soul taking wing (spirits cant rise

when weighed down by guilt)Rebirthagain like nature, renewal,

equated with morning and the seasonsof spring and summer


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Baptismcharacters reborn through medium ofwater; characters whose old identity stays inwater River = shifting nature of time

All things are caught up in the rivers flow(somewhere else now) Literary drowning swept away in flood Near-drowning = baptism: character must be ready to

receive it

Symbolic rebirth: reborn in identity as followerof Christ

Heraclitus: One cannot step into the same rivertwice (500 B.C.)


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Sacred marriagethe joiningoften of

oppositeswhich restores peace (e.g.: Beauty andthe Beast) Battle between good and evilwe want goodto

win (e.g.: cartoons, many movies, Paradise Lost) Natural world opposed to mechanical world

usually nature is good; technology, evil (e.g.: BraveNew W orld, Walden)

Innate wisdom vs. educated stupiditysome

characters, though ignorant, exhibit a naturalwisdom; this is often shown in animals. Others,though educated, have no street smarts andmake poor decisions (e.g.: the teacher in To K ill aMockingbird with her tirade about Hitler and prejudice)


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Unhealable woundmay be physical or

psychological (e.g.: Captain Hooks missing limb)Magic weaponusually bestowed by a mentor

to the hero (e.g.: Excalibur; light sabers in Star Wars) Supernatural interventionthe gods help (or

hurt) the hero (e.g.: The Iliads Trojan War) Light vs. Darklight represents hope and

illumination; dark indicates hopelessness andthe unknown. Light shines from heaven to

indicate goodness; characters

are often drawn into evil

darkness


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Sexuality: Grail Legends: Knights lance (phallic sword)

Holy Grail/Chalice/Empty vessel = femalesexuality

Lance + Chalice = fertility Knights restore fertility

Waves breaking on the beach = fulfillment

Curtains blowing, Campfires, Fireworks

Male symbols: Lances, Swords, Guns, Keys

Female symbols:

Chalices, Grails, Bowls


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Heaven vs. Hellsupreme beings and mythologicalgods live in the skies; evil forces, including Satan,

come from the underworld (e.g.: myths of Persephoneand Orpheus and Eurydice; Paradise Lost) Haven vs. Wildernesshavens are places of

comfort and safety (e.g.: Garden of Eden;

Camelot); wilderness includes any place of danger(e.g.: escaped slaves such as James Pennington had to go into thewilderness before they could reach safety from the UndergroundRailroad) Water vs. Desertwateris a symbol of life and

birth (used in baptism); deserts indicate lack oflife, desolation. (e.g.: Jesus temptation by Satan in thedesert; the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath must crossthe desert before they get to the Promised Land ofCalifornia and see the river)


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Fire vs. Ice

fire depicts knowledge (technology) and life; ice represents ignorance (ice age) and death

(e.g.: Frankensteins monster begins his life with fire(lightning) and disappears on the ice.

Cavesisolated in barren wastelands Unadorned, strange, uncanny

Connection to our most basic, primitive elements

Platos cave consciousness & perception Security & shelter Nothingness (suggests existentialism)


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Geographical significance:

When writers send characters south, its so theycan run amok

Direct/raw encounters with the subconscious

Lowlands= swamps, crowds, fog,

darkness, fields, heat, life, deathunpleasantness, people

Highlands = snow, ice, purity, thin

air, clear views, isolation, life, death


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Herousually rises from a rather lowly birth to

become a leader or king after facing manytrials (e.g.: King Arthur, Jesus, Beowulf, Harry Potter,Superman)Young Person from the Provincestaken from

home and returns with a new perspective (e.g.:Tarzan, Dorothy from The W izard of Oz ; Alice fromAlice in Wonderland)

Initiatesinnocents who train for the quest

(e.g.: Luke Skywalker; Aragorn from Lord of the Rings)Mentorsteachers or counselors for the

initiates (e.g.: Yoda from Star Wars; Gandolffrom Lord of the Rings)


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Benevolent Guideusually an older person

who gives the hero counsel(e.g.: Merlin, ObiWon Kenobi, fairy godmothers)

Shamanprotector of rituals and traditions(e.g.: Rafiki in The Lion King; witch doctor) Parent-Child Conflictgenerational tension

(e.g: Romeo and Lord Montague;Luke Skywalker andDarth Vader)Companionsloyal to hero at all costs

(e.g.: The Fellowship in the Lord of theRingstrilogy; Robin Hoods merry men) Friendly Beasthelps hero

(e.g.:Chewbacca, Toto)


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Loyal Retainera true and loyal friend, often a

servant (e.g.: Sancho Panza in Don Quixote)Trickstera wise fool, a rascal, troublemaker

(e.g.: Loki in Norse mythology; Jar Jar Blinks in the StarWars series; Touchstone in As You Like It; BrerRabbit)

Devil Figurepurely evil (e.g.: Satan, Sauron fromLord of the Rings; Grendel in Beowulf; Simon Legree inUncle Toms Cabin)

Evil Figure with Ultimately Good Heartredeems himself at the end of the story (e.g.:Darth Vader; Scrooge)


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Evil Figure with Ultimately Good Heart

redeems himself at the end of the story(e.g.: Darth Vader; Scrooge) Scapegoatsacrificed animal or human who

takes on the sins and punishment for others

(e.g.: Jesus, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird; JimCasy from The Grapes of Wrath; the mother in ShirleyJacksons The Lottery)

Outcastcharacter banished from society

(e.g.: Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame;Frankensteins monster) Star-crossed Loversfate is against them(e.g.: Romeo and Juliet; Guinevere and Lancelot)


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Earth motherprovides life and nourishment(e.g.: Mother Nature; Mammy in Gone with the Wind)Temptressbeautiful woman who brings the

destruction of the hero (e.g.: Delilah; Helen of Troy) Platonic Idealthe woman on a pedestal who

inspires the hero, but with whom the hero hasno physical relationship (e.g.: ladies of the court inwhose names the knights fought; the Virgin Mary)

Unfaithful Wifea married woman involved in

illicit affair(s) (e.g.: Madame Bovary; Hester Prynne) Damsel in Distressmust be rescued by the hero,

who is often trapped when he comes to her aid

(e.g.: Guinevere)


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Creaturesmonsters who threaten the hero

(e.g.: Grendel in Beowulf; Cyclops; vampires)Fisher Kinghero = fixer Wounded King who keeps Holy Grail in Arthurian Legend,

always wounded in the legs or groin, immovable His kingdom suffers because of his injuries His impotence affects the fertility of the land,

reducing it to a barren Wasteland All he can do is fish in the river near his castle Something in society is brokenWastelands must be restored to fertility Rain figures prominently in fertility myth


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Vampires: selfish, exploitative, refusing

to respect autonomy of others Elements in Vampire Allegories:

Vampires: attractive but evil Old Figure/Vampire: represents corrupt, outworn values

Violates young women

Leaves his mark on them Steals their innocence/their usefulness to younger men

Leaves them helpless followers in their sin

Victim: Young, virginal female: beautiful,unmarried

Vampire strips away virginal females youth,energy, virtue

Continuance of life force of the Old Male comesfrom death/destruction of young woman


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Christ Figures: Any 3-4similarities to thesecharacteristics:

Crucified (hand/foot/side/headwounds) In agony Self-sacrificing Good with children Good with loaves, fishes, water,wine 33 years old Carpenter Humble modes of transportation

(donkey, feet preferable) Walks on water

Portrayed with outstretched arms Spends time alone in the

wilderness Confrontation with Devil/temptedby Satanic force Last seen in the company ofthieves Creator of aphorisms and parables Buried but arose on 3rd day Disciples12 @ 1st (not alldevoted) Very forgiving Arrives to redeem unworthy world Unmarried, preferably celibate Inspires hope/performs miracles


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AP Central. org.

Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Likea Professor. New York: Harper-Collins, 2003.

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Symbols and Archetypes