LITERARY ARCHETYPES
Definition: A very old imaginative pattern that appears in literature across cultures
and is repeated through the ages. An archetype can be a character, theme, plot,
setting, or image
HERO (PROTAGONIST)
Antihero
Irresponsible Charmer
Bad boy or girl
Lost or Tortured Soul
Caregiver or nurturer
Savior
Chief, boss, leader
Star-crossed lover
Crusader/Warrior
Tortured soul
Epic hero or superhero
Tragic Hero
“Everyman”
Trickster
Individual
Underdog
VILLIAN (ANTAGONIST)
Backstabber
Illegitimate child
Death personified
Sadist
Devil or demon
Schemer
Evil chief, boss, leader
Seductress/Temptress
Evil genius
Traitor
Evil Mother/Father
Tyrant or autocrat
Fanatic
Witch
OTHER ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS
(Can sometimes be hero or villain, as well)
Damsel in distress
Love interest
Deuteragonist (2nd most imp.
Matriarch/Patriarch
char.)
Domineering patriarch
Free spirit
Orphan
Outcast or loner
Sage/Wise old man or woman
Scapegoat
Teacher/Student or Mentor/Protégée
Shrew – nag
Victim of the universe
Sidekick/Best friend/Fool or clown
Waif
Spunky child or woman
ARCHETYPAL THEMES AND PLOTS
Acceptance
Failure/Success
Oppression
Anger
Fall from grace
Patriotism/Loyalty to
Armageddon/End of
Family
World
Faustian deal
Poverty
Challenges
Freedom
Power
Choices
Friendship
Prejudice
Commitment
Gluttony
Pride
Communication
Greed
Quest/Task/Search
Community
Guilt
Rebirth/Renewal of life
Conflicts (___vs.___)
Heroes
Resourcefulness
Convictions/Ideals/
Hope
Sloth
Immortality
Social change
Initiation/Rite of
Supernatural
Principles
Creation
Crime
the group
Passage
influences
Customs
Innocence
Taboo or “no-no”
Death
Journey
Teamwork
Denial
Leadership
Temptation
Discrimination
Loneliness
Time
Diversity
Loss
Trust
Entrapment
Love
Values
Envy
Loyalty
War
Ethical dilemmas
Lust
Euthanasia
Money
Evil
Nature
ARCHETYPAL PLACES
Cave – womb; grave; unexplored
Heavenly place on earth – good place
regions of human soul;
Hellish or evil place on earth
unknown
Island – isolation, paradise
Desert – loneliness, absence of life,
emptiness, wasteland, isolation,
Place for afterlife – Heaven, Hell,
Hades, Avalon
Site for ceremony or banquet –
purity
Forest – unknown, mysterious,
potentially bad place; fear
fellowship; camaraderie;
display of wealth; heaven
Garden or nature – good place
ARCHETYPAL IMAGES
Colors
Numbers
Blue – peace; serenity; water;
coldness
Black – darkness; death; fear, evil,
melancholy; unknown
Gray – absence of life
Green — positive – growth; hope,
nature; fertility; abundance;
negative - rotting death, decay
Red — blood; passion; sacrifice;
love, violence; disorder; anger;
White – positive – light; purity;
3 – Christian Trinity
4 – seasons and the 4 ancient
elements (fire, water,
earth, air
12 – months of year, completion
of cycle
Rivers – death and rebirth (baptism);
flowing of time into eternity;
transitional phases of the life
cycle; change
Sea – symbol of life; timelessness,
innocence; good; holiness;
infinity; death and rebirth;
negative – death; terror;
change
supernatural
Fire – both protective and destructive
Moon –time; controls events, feminine
Serpents – energy, evil, corruption,
Sensuality, devils
Shadow – evil inside the hero,
temptation, conflict, obstacles
in the journey, danger,
unknown
Shapes
Circle – perfection, unity,
wholeness, eternity
Triangle – trinity, solidity
Sun – giver and destroyer of life;
creative energy; nature;
thinking; knowledge; wisdom,
enlightenment; spiritual vision;
father image; Rising sun—
birth; creation, enlightenment;
Setting sun - death; coming to
an end
Water – birth, rebirth, mystery of
creation; cycle of birth, death,
resurrection; cleansing;
purification, redemption;
fertility and growth; change