Why do authors use character archetypes?

Archetypes are those familiar characters, situations, or symbols that reoccur in stories throughout history and literature. Writers use them to create a connection between the audience and the piece of literature being presented.

What are the 12 character archetypes?

The 12 Jungian Archetypes

• Ruler.
• Creator/Artist.
• Sage.
• Innocent.
• Explorer.
• Rebel.
• Hero.
• Wizard.

Why do writers use archetypes and what is their effect on the audience?

Authors put archetypes because these characters are the ones people seem to “know” immediately. Archetypes transcend ages and generally give the first “sketch” of the character. The general sketch, not the specifics. A good author can use many archetypes and come up with a fresh story.

How do archetypes relate to literature?

Archetypes allow the reader or audience to connect certain parts of themselves with the characters, which can help them to become more invested in the story. This experience can help readers to see parts of themselves that maybe they hadn’t considered before.

What do character archetypes do?

An archetype is an emotion, character type, or event that is notably recurrent across the human experience. In the arts, an archetype creates an immediate sense of familiarity, allowing an audience member to relate to an event or character without having to necessarily ponder why they relate.

Which character is the best example of a archetype?

The archetypal Bad Cop, Good Cop, the Hero, the Bully, the Positive Father, the Negative Father, the Princess, the Wise Old Woman, the Devil, the Witch, Mother Nature… all of these are archetypes that appear consciously in different and varying ways, but are all readily identifiable because they are archetypal.

Are archetypes bad?

Character Archetypes And we’re able to categorize certain characters into types because of similarities they share. Character archetypes aren’t good or bad. They simply are. Without fully understanding why, readers will try to figure out who the hero is in your story.

Why are character archetypes so important in screenwriting?

Every screenwriter knows that writing a great screenplay takes more than just a good plot or good world building. It relies heavily on constructing memorable characters. Understanding character archetypes are an important step in this endeavor.

What makes a good archetypal character?

They should be larger than life but still believable. And over centuries of storytelling, archetypal characters have played a larger role than others. The Swiss psychoanalyst, Carl Gustav Jung, having studied ancestral roots and the collective unconscious, defined 12 original archetypes.

What are archetypes in literature?

According to Jung, archetypes are buried in the human subconscious. We recognize these characters in the stories we enjoy because each archetype reminds us of a unique set of traits common to the universal human experience. There’s a reason the hero’s journey is foundational to many enduring works of literature.

How many archetypes are there in the writer’s journey?

In The Writer’s Journey, Vogler focused on eight archetypes common to storytelling and most strongly associated with Campbell’s monomythic structure. Shawn refers to many of these archetypes in the Story Grid Podcast and in lectures for Story Grid’s Level Up Your Craft course.