Mythological Criticism

1. Mythological
Criticism
and
Archetypes
BY: TO:
AYTEKIN ALIYEVA Prof. SHAHIN KHALILLI

2. QAFQAZ UNIVERSITY
SPRING, 2013

3. Mythological literary critics look for archetypes, characters and/or symbols with traits
that are seen throughout literature regardless of time or place. Mythological critics
compare one work to others with similar story lines to uncover the archetypes and
compare the differences as well as the similarities how it helps to define the underlying
existence of the human condition.
The important thing to remember when discussing mythological literary criticism is the
recurrent patterns of characters in the different works. Mythological critics do not take
simply a dog or cat for example and compare that dog or cat to any other dog or cat. The
mythological critic is looking for the evil dog or the heroic cat, so that he or she can
compare that animal as an archetype to other evil dogs and heroic cats found in other
literary works. Mythological criticism is about the symbolic meaning, the undertones of
the archetypes: The moon that looms large over the horizon is different than the moon
that sits quietly unnoticed in the heavens. Each has a different undertone of the archetype
of the moon. While they share certain qualities, they also vary in certain qualities and
meanings.
Many were skeptical of this approach, since it appears to lean towards the mystery, but
then anthropological studies began to advance at the end of the 19th century, and it has
been one of the biggest influences on mythological criticism. They study of
anthropology have a new understanding to the Greek myths, which are the most well
known and often used allusions.
Mythological Criticism has references to famous mythological stories in works of
literature. These references are included in the hopes of getting universal reactions from
all readers. It is similar to a psychological approach because it also is concerned with the
things that underlie human behavior. Myths are symbolic of people’s hopes fears, values,
and other philosophical ideas. Unlike the more traditional form of criticism that focuses
on the history of the author and the piece itself, mythological and archetypal focuses on
the history of the gods, goddesses, and other allusions mentions in the piece that involve
mythology.
There are certain characters that the mythological critic looks for, such as the avenger,
who is driven to avenge the death of his father or another family member. The
mythological critic also looks for inanimate symbols such as the sun, the moon, or some
other natural phenomenon that is repeated in literature to give it significant underlying
meaning. Those are called archetypes. Archetypes are similar ideas, motifs, and images
found in many different myths and normally defined as “universal symbols".
Carl Jung believed that these archetypes served to trigger the collective unconscious a
fundamental collection of shared memories that reside in the unconscious of every human
being. Jung believed that these memories are triggered by certain symbols. Whether there
is any truth to this or not, the mythological critic seeks to find these archetypes, and
recognizes that they are helpful tools in solving the concepts in the work as a whole.
These archetypes recur in many literary works and often enough that whether they are
part of the collective unconscious as Jung believed, they are definitely a part of the
collective conscious as they share certain unspoken meanings to just about everyone who
sees them or reads them. For example, the character of Iago in Othello could be
compared to the devil in traditional Christian belief. This character, by different names of
course, appears in different literary works throughout the world and throughout history.
The mythological critic seeks to find these and compare them to each other.

4. Some Examples of Archetypes:
Mandala: It is a geometric figure based upon the squaring of a circle around a unifying center
and means the desire for spiritual unity and psychic integration.


Yang-yin: A Chinese symbol representing the union of the opposite forces of the yang
(masculine principle, light, activity, the conscious mind) and the yin (female principle,
darkness, passivity, the unconscious)

Ouroboros: the ancient symbol of the snake biting its own tail, signifying the eternal cycle of
life, primordial unconsciousness, the unity of opposing forces.

5. Water: the mystery of creation, birth, death, resurrection; life cycle; eternity, fertility and
growth.
Colors: Red: blood, sacrifice, violence, disorder and so on. Green: hope, fertility,
sensation, growth, in negative context can be death, decay and so on. Black: the unknown,
death, evil, chaos, mystery, melancholy, primal wisdom and so on. Blue: virginal, Mary,
security, highly positive, spiritual purity, religious feeling and so on.
Numbers: Three: spiritual unity, light, male etc. Four: life cycle, four seasons, four
elements, earth, nature, female etc. Five: integration, the four limbs and the head that
controls them, the four cardinal points plus the center etc. Seven: powerful because it unites
three and four (male and female), perfect etc.
Garden: paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty etc.
 Tree: immorality, inexhaustible life etc.
Desert: spiritual aridity, death, nihilism, hopelessness.
Mountain: aspiration and inspiration, meditation and spiritual elevation.
Circle (sphere): wholeness, unity
Oval: the mystery of life and the forces of generation.
Finally, in addition to appearing as images and motifs, archetypes may be found in even
more complex combinations as genres or types of literature that conform with the major phases
of the seasonal cycle:
·The mythos of spring: comedy
·The mythos of summer: romance
·The mythos of fall: tragedy
·The mythos of winter: irony
Myth is a structural organizing principle of literary form and an archetype is an essential
element of one’s literary experience.

6. Water: the mystery of creation, birth, death, resurrection; life cycle; eternity, fertility and
growth.
Colors: Red: blood, sacrifice, violence, disorder and so on. Green: hope, fertility,
sensation, growth, in negative context can be death, decay and so on. Black: the unknown,
death, evil, chaos, mystery, melancholy, primal wisdom and so on. Blue: virginal, Mary,
security, highly positive, spiritual purity, religious feeling and so on.
Numbers: Three: spiritual unity, light, male etc. Four: life cycle, four seasons, four
elements, earth, nature, female etc. Five: integration, the four limbs and the head that
controls them, the four cardinal points plus the center etc. Seven: powerful because it unites
three and four (male and female), perfect etc.
Garden: paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty etc.
 Tree: immorality, inexhaustible life etc.
Desert: spiritual aridity, death, nihilism, hopelessness.
Mountain: aspiration and inspiration, meditation and spiritual elevation.
Circle (sphere): wholeness, unity
Oval: the mystery of life and the forces of generation.
Finally, in addition to appearing as images and motifs, archetypes may be found in even
more complex combinations as genres or types of literature that conform with the major phases
of the seasonal cycle:
·The mythos of spring: comedy
·The mythos of summer: romance
·The mythos of fall: tragedy
·The mythos of winter: irony
Myth is a structural organizing principle of literary form and an archetype is an essential
element of one’s literary experience.