Archetypal criticism

How it is used

Use to compare recurring patterns such as journeys or renewal, while respecting differences between works.

Example sentences

1. The essay uses archetypal criticism to connect the winter journey with a pattern of death and renewal.

   The journey is read as part of a recurring symbolic pattern.

2. Our discussion of archetypal criticism questioned whether the shared image has the same meaning in both cultures.

   A repeated image does not automatically erase cultural differences.

Common collocations

• apply archetypal criticism
• archetypal criticism and myth

Related terms

• motifAn image, object, idea or phrase that appears again and again in a work and helps develop its themes.
• symbolAn object, person, place or event in a text that stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning, such as a journey that represents life.

More terms: Criticism and Analysis

• literary criticism
• interpretation
• literary analysis
• close reading
• canon
• literary theory
• intertextuality
• feminist criticism
• explication
• narratology
• defamiliarization
• intentional fallacy