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Archetypes Archetypal criticism focuses on patterns in a literary work that commonly occur in other literary works. Bettina Knapps 1984 effort at an authoritative demonstration of archetypal literary criticism exemplified this pattern. Did you find something inaccurate, misleading, abusive, or otherwise problematic in this essay example? This heuristic distinction was formed, however, solely on psychobiographical grounds: Did the text originate in, and remain principally shaped by, the authors experience of consciousness and the personal unconscious or his or her experience at the level of the archetypal collective unconscious? Othellos motivation in the play appears to be his love and concern for his wife Desdemona, which ironically, ends up being his downfall in the end. Othello is a Moorish (African) general in the Venetian army and an eloquent storyteller who is respected, but often treated as an outsider. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. "He is, in a sense, a 'self made man', the . For Frye, as William K. Wimsatt and Cleanth Brooks put it, archetype, borrowed from Jung, means a primordial image, a part of the collective unconscious, the psychic residue of numberless experiences of the same kind, and thus part of the inherited response-pattern of the race (Literary Criticism 709). Archetypal criticism focuses on such things in a work. A tragic hero is a hero nonetheless, but it all comes down to how they hold themselves together in the face of. Othello: I greet thy love, Iagos motivation is anything but explainable in conventional terms. However, as the play progresses, jealousy clamps down his mind, and his decisions are colored with jealousy that Desdemona is betraying him, leading him to kill her and take his own life. Learn what works (and what doesn't) from the reader's perspective. To see you here before me. According to Hillman, that discourse was anticipated by Evangelos Christous Logos of the Soul (1963) and extended in religion (David L. Millers New Polytheism, 1974), philosophy (Edward Caseys Imagining: A Phenomenological Study, 1976), mythology (Rafael Lopez-Pedrazas Hermes and His Children, 1977), psycholinguistics (Paul Kuglers Alchemy of Discourse: An Archetypal Approach to Language, 1982), and the theory of analysis (Patricia Berrys Echos Subtle Body, 1982). "Othello", by William Shakespeare, is a story of jealousy's potential to manipulate thoughts and eventually lead to ultimate demise. What is striking about Shakespeares alteration of Cinthios grisly tale of murder and villainy is the shift of emphasis to the provocation for the murder, the ennobling of Othello as a figure of great stature and dignity to underscore his self-destruction, and the complication of motive for the ensigns actions. If Hamlet is a tragedy about youth, and Lear concerns old age, Othello is a family or domestic tragedy of a middle-aged man in which the fate of kingdoms and the cosmos that hangs in the balance in Hamlet and Lear contracts to the private world of a marriages destruction. The concept of the archetype is a venerable philosophical principle that came into new prominence and usage in the twentieth century with the development of archetypal literary criticism through the theories of psychologist C. G. Jung and literary theorist Northrop Frye. By speaking of soul as a primary metaphor, rather than defining soul substantively and attempting to derive its ontological status from empirical demonstration or theological (metaphysical) argument, archetypal psychology recognizes that psychic reality is inextricably involved with rhetoric (Hillman, Archetypal 19). These patterns and themes, often referred to as archetypes, are believed to be present in the collective unconscious of all human beings . The scapegoat is the character that gets blamed for everything regardless if he or she was actually the one who did or not (Archetypes). "In Sidney's view, tragedy provokes "the affects of admiration and commiseration" and so demonstrates "the uncertainty of this world". To learn more, read our. Reading example essays works the same way! Her Jungian Approach to Literature attempts to cover the Finnish epic The Kalevala, the Persian Atars The Conference of the Birds, and texts by Euripides, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Michel de Montaigne, Pierre Corneille, Goethe, Novalis, Rabbi ben Simhah Nachman, and W. B. Yeats. No single motive is relied on for long, and the gap between cause and effect, between the pettiness of Iagos grudges and the monstrousness of his behavior, prompted Samuel Taylor Coleridge in a memorable phrase to characterize Iagos motiveless malignity. There is in Iago a zest for villainy and a delight in destruction, driven more by his hatred and contempt for any who oppose his conception of jungle law than by a conventional naturalistic explanation based on jealousy or envy. 3. while we are reading any of [Shakespeare's] great criminal characters - we think not so much of the crimes which they commit, as of the ambition, the aspiring spirit, the intellectual activity which prompts them to . In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. Othello is the most painfully exciting and the most terrible. The patterns are the major intrinsic aspects of a work. : In this quote, Othello is stating that his wife's supposed infidelity has ruined his name and turned it "black" and dirty like his own face, showing that a woman's fidelity was linked to a man's honor. O, damn her, damn her! Mythological critics compare one work to others with similar story . OTHELLO: Iago critics. Othello is first shown as a hero of war and a man of, The extent of which Othello is a tragic hero has been open to much debate; the basis on which he is judged falls to Aristotles established view of the crucial elements that distinguish whether a person is truly tragic. The Women of Othello There are only three female characters in Othello, and each plays a critical role in Shakespeare's artfully crafted plot of jealousy and retribution. archetypal criticism in othello. This explains his fascination with a text like Rider Haggards novel She: The History of an Adventure (1886-87), with its unmediated representation of the anima. As Jung himself noted: Literary products of highly dubious merit are often of the greatest interest to the psychologist (Collected 15:87-88). Archetypal Criticism of Othello Othello, one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, is full of symbols, motifs, and themes that make it relatable to people all over the world. If it were now to die Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous, The term archetype can be traced to Plato (arche, original; typos, form), but the concept gained currency in twentieth-century literary theory and criticism through the work of the Swiss founder of analytical psychology, C. G. Jung (1875-1961). Even though Othello had a reputation as a hero, he ends up being one of the most gullible characters in the play when he completely falls into the evil trap that Iago set for him. This causes him to lose his ability to make good judgments and decisions. As Dian's visage, is now begrimed and black. After confronting Desdemona of her crimes he decides to carry out his overall plan to end his trues loves life. Not only does she try to protect Othellos reputation by blaming herself, Desdemona tells Emilia to remind Othello about her showing that she stills respects Othello. The men of the play manipulate her image of a naive lover to being a strumpet! (V.ii.94). In addition, he modified and extended his concept over the many decades of his professional life, often insisting that archetype named a process, a perspective, and not a content, although this flexibility was lost through the codifying, nominalizing tendencies of his followers. Othello decides the only way to right his wrong is to take his own life. This burgeoning theoretical movement and the generally unsatisfying nature of so much early Jungian literary criticism are both linked to the problematic nature of Jungs own writing on literature, which comprises a handful of essays: The Type Problem in Poetry, On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry, Psychology and Literature, Ulysses: A Monologue, and Is There a Freudian Type of Poetry? These essays reveal Jungs lack of awareness as a reader despite his sense that they may show how ideas that play a considerable role in my work can be applied to literary material (Collected 15:109^. Shakespeare often focuses his plays on human nature as well as fate, which Othellos fate ended in the tragic ending due to his reversal of fortune once the claims against Desdemona begin. In his play, he portrays Othello like a tragic hero, a type of literary character. But Jos van Meurss critically annotated 1988 bibliography, Jungian Literary Criticism, 1920-1980, effectively challenges this claim. They also attest to his self-confessed lack of interest in literature: I feel not naturally drawn to what one calls literature, but I am strangely attracted by genuine fiction, i.e., fantastical invention (Letters 1:509). The direction of Othello criticism will also be affected as literary criticism's longstanding commitment to cultural historicism comes under pressure from those who argue that explorations of context often come at the expense of literature's formal properties and affective registers, and as developments in the digital humanities enable fresh O, farewell! Desdemona on her deathbed, still defends her Lords actions. A storm has dispersed the Venetian fleet so that Cassio arrives first, anxious for Othello's safety. BASIC PREMISES OF ARCHETYPAL THEORY: 1. The storm that divides the Venetian fleet also disperses the Turkish threat and clears the way for the lovers happy reunion and peaceful enjoyment of their married state. Further, the text offered confirmation (and poetic representation) of the only direct contribution Jung made to literary theory: a distinction between psychological and visionary texts (Collected 15:89-90). he asks, which gives pause to a theory of pure nobility. In the essay Frye critically analyses literature against the backdrop of rituals and myths. Iago's intelligence and wit allows him to make good sport of the protagonists of the play, sending Othello to his doom and that of his family. How to respect you; you are the lord of duty; In Shakespeare's Othello, Iago is one of the most compelling villains in English literature. Shakespeare's play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, is a powerful example of a tragedy and its main character, Othello, is an excellent illustration of what Aristotle constitutes as a tragic hero. The Shakespearean tragedy Othello contains a number of themes; their relative importance and priority is debated by literary critics. The romantic climax comes in the trial scene of act 1, in which Othello success-fully defends himself before the Venetian senate against Brabantios charge that Othello has beguiled his daughter, stoln from me, and corrupted / By spells and medicines bought of mountebanks. Calmly and courteously Othello recounts how, despite the differences of age, race, and background, he won Desdemonas heart by recounting the stories of his exotic life and adventures: She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them. Wonder at Othellos heroic adventures and compassion for her sympathy have brought the two opposites togetherthe young, inexperienced Venetian woman and the brave, experienced outsider. And new theories increasingly give credence to the requirement, historically asserted by Jungian readers, that each text elicit a personal, affective, and not merely intellectual response. Citations Role of the Archetypal Symbols The handercheif is utilized throught Othello to demonstrate the loyalty of Desdemona, as well as Othello's love for her. Othello: Damn her, lewd minx! As Iago asserts to Roderigo, Virtue? Shakespeare derived his plot from Giraldi Cinthios Tale of the Moor, in the story collection Hecatommithi (1565), reshaping Cinthios sensational tale of jealousy, intrigue, and murder in several key ways. OTHELLO: My name, that was as fresh. Nobody; I myself. For the onlookers on stage, the final tableau of the dead Desdemona and Othello poisons sight and provokes the command to Let it be hid. The witnesses on stage cannot compute rationally what has occurred nor why, but the audience has been given a privileged view of the battle between good and evil worked out in the private recesses of a bedroom and a human soul. To furnish me with some swift means of death