Shakespeare uses this Archetype in some very interesting ways. Instead of simply giving us a 'hero' figure, he gives us a main character who could be a hero and then puts him under pressure - but these characters don't always succeed. It is left to us then to decide if these characters are actual heroes or not. Since we've all read Hamlet, it is easy to see what I mean. He is a prince, he has a complication - but he doesn't face it nobly or heroically. This leads us to ask the question or our Heroic Archetype, "what really makes a hero?"
As Joseph Campbell's book sates, "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won" (23). Thus Shakespeare questions our very view of what being a hero really is. As strange as it sounds, I actually really like this because it makes me look closer into the story line and character, making my own judgments and actually taking something influential away from the text.
Bibliography
Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. Print.
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deleted5607344 52p · 732 weeks ago
1. Strange circumstances around parentage (Jesus=immaculate conception, King Arthur=illegitimate, Harry Potter=Orphaned as baby, Hercules=demi-god)
Please don't hate me for putting Jesus and Harry Potter in the same list; this is just from a literary perspective.
2. Has to die as some point and be resurrected (again, Jesus=literally resurrected, Harry Potter=comes back to life, Hercules=lives again in Olympus. Pretty sure there's something about King Arthur too but I forget)
3. Has a wise supernatural mentor (Jesus=God, King Arthur=Merlin, Harry Potter=Dumbledore, Hercules=Zeus)
The list could go on but basically every hero story is exactly the same which is what makes it so ARCHETYPAL! It's interesting that, like you said, Shakespeare doesn't follow the patterns. That's probably one of the main things that make his plays so great.
Cara Call · 731 weeks ago
Also about the dramatic reading, it turns out that Antonio only has two lines so would you be willing to take the role of Ferdinand as well? he only has thirteen lines, and this is not for sure. I am going to ask Lindsay if she will do the role but if not could you?
Laura D 45p · 731 weeks ago
- yes, I was actually thinking about Macbeth too when I wrote this, it's just that everyone hasn't read that play. He as such a potential hero - he is worthy and noble and he's going to become a king someday . . . and then he blows it when the real push comes. He does give into his wife's pressure - but a different pressure is the pressure of his own concision and goodness. Super tragic play!