Archetype
13:31, 11 August 2006 (UTC)13:31, 11 August 2006 (UTC)~~
An
archetype is an idealized model of a person, object, or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned, or emulated. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality or behaviour. This article is about archetypes in psychology.
Archetype is sometimes broadly and misleadingly used to refer to a
prototype, a
stereotype or an
epitome. It may thus indicate a type of person, e.g. a
mother, a
father, a
hero, a
warrior or a
martyr.
Reliable apearances of archetype's prevalence of usage can be traced to European texts as early as 1545.[
1] It springs from the Latin noun
archetypum, the same word and meaning for the Greek noun
arkhetypon, meaning a
template,
mold,
copy, "
pattern or
model." Other historical forms included the adjectives
archetypal,
archetypic,
archetypoid and
archetypical; also the adverb
archetypically. The word is comprised of the neutral adjective
arkhetypos or
arkhetupos, meaning "first-moulded," logically derived from conjoining the prefix (or any one of its variations) of arkhe- "first" + typos "mark" or "type," in reference to the blow of a printing press. As an interesting note regarding the investigation of the origin of the suffix "type" (I do not believe that "type" was intended to have anything to do with printing, but rather, means "typically", "common to", "kind", "sort")or "typos," the
press was not invented until the 12th or 13th centuries in the far East (China), and the first known press in Europe is widely accepted as
Gutenberg's c. 1455.
The Bible was Gutenberg's first and most influential large printing project, which clearly influenced literature and language, including pronunciation of modern day English. As a note in English usage, the
"ch" in ar
chetype (and others such as ar
chitect and
chorus, were transliterations from the Greek (chi; perhaps most frequently used in mathematics as ² (or "chi-square")), articulated in English as a "k."[
2] A general usage linguistic survey reported that 94 percent of literary experts of the
usage panel pronounced the word archetype (ärk-tp), with the "k" inflection with the remainder using the "ch" (ärch-tp), like in church. Some 10 percent of those who pronounced it with a "k" reported that the "ch" usage was an acceptable pronunciation.[
3],[
4]
Similarly, "
Noah's Ark," "
archangel," "
architect" and "
archaic" all spring from the variations of the prefix
arch, arche,
ark,
arc, or arce, all transliterations from the Greek and Latin meaning "first." It is thought that
Bible translations printed by Gutenberg, who used the Latin
Vulgate),
Martin Luther, and
William Tyndale's work on the
King James Version (the latter two also used the
Vulgate, of which
Jerome used the
Septuagint as a basis) faithfully transliterated these words into English with little or no change in meaning.
The usage of psychological archetype reveals that it was advanced by
Jung in c. 1919 and generally adopted in the social sciences (
see Jungian archetypes section below), although the study of archetype frameworks has undergone multiple academic treatments and applications.
Archetypes often appear in many forms of
literature.
William Shakespeare, for example, is known for popularizing many archetypal characters that hold great social import such as Hamlet, Hero, Benedict, Puck, Ariel, Falstaff, Othello, Romeo, Juliet, King Lear, Orlando, Prospero, among a multitude of many others. Although Shakespeare based many of his characters on existing archetypes from
fables and
myths, Shakespeare's characters stand out as original by their contrast against a complex, social literary landscape. For instance, the significance of Shakespeare's work on
The Tempest, considered by many to be his last and best play, offers an illuminating perspective to the adaptation and development of Shakespeare's unique archetypal characters. For
The Tempest, The Bard likely used words and images from a manuscript by William Strachey that detailed an actual shipwreck of the 17th-century English sailing vessel
Sea Venture in 1609 on the islands of Bermuda. The ship's destination was Virginia. However, Shakespeare geniusly crafted the story to make it his own, thus launching the undeniable archetype of the sage magician, Prospero, through whom it seems Shakespeare wrote himself. In fact, Prospero's renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medea in
Ovid's
Metamorphoses. Furthermore, Prospero's epilogue is seen as Shakespeare's archetypal resignation as writer, magician, and guide:
Now my charms are all o'erthrown,And what strength I have's mine own,...
As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free.A
pastiche is an imitation of an archetype or prototype in order to pay
homage to the original creator.
In the psychological framework of
Carl Jung, archetypes are innate, universal prototypes for ideas and may be used to interpret observations. A group of memories and interpretations associated with an archetype are a
complex, e.g. a
mother complex associated with the
mother archetype. Jung treated the archetypes as psychological organs, analogous to physical ones in that both are morphological givens that arose through
evolution.
Jung listed four main forms of archetypes:
*The
Self *The
Shadow *The
Anima*The
AnimusSymbols of the unconscious abound in
Jungian psychology:
*The
Syzygy ("Divine Couple"), e.g.
Aeons
*The
Child, e.g.
Linus van Pelt*The
Übermensch ("Superman", the
Omnipotent) e.g.
The Joker,
Iago*The
Hero, e.g.
Siegfried,
Batman,
Beowulf,
Doc Savage,
Luke Skywalker and Matrix's
Neo.
*The
Great Mother, either good or terrible, e.g.
Devi (MahaDevi), the Great Goddess,
Glinda the Good Witch of the North
*The
Wise old man, e.g.
Obi-Wan Kenobi,
Gandalf,
Albus Dumbledore,
Mazer Rackham and
Mr. Miyagi*The
Trickster or Ape, e.g.
Reynard,
Robin Goodfellow,
Br'er Rabbit,
Bart Simpson,
Bugs Bunny,
Loki, and
Jack Sparrow*The
Puer Aeternus (Latin for "eternal boy"), e.g.
Peter PanProponents of
Enneagram typology claim that the Enneagram characters can help people understand how archetypes affect personal interactions.
*
Perennial philosophy*
Cliché*
Joseph Campbell*
Tarot* *Jung, C. G., (1934–1954).
The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious. (1981 2nd ed. Collected Works Vol.9 Part 1), Princeton, N.J.: Bollingen. ISBN 0691018332
