The Literature Based Research Paper
Archetypes
&
Stereotypes
The Literature Based Research Paper
The Assignment . . .
Choose an archetype from Hall’s work and
trace its development from the 17th century
in Shakespeare’s Hamlet through literature
and media of the modern era. Discuss how
your archetype is illustrated both in
Shakespeare’s play and in contemporary
sources. Finally, analyze how the archetype
has adapted or how society’s perception of it
has altered and what this alteration implies
about our cultural values.
•Everything must be fiction!
•You must address whether or
not the archetype stays the
same or changes!
Trickiest
piece about
this essay:
The
Scholarly
Source!!!
Lots of choices here
Remember . . .
• What the character does is not the
defining element. The defining
element is WHY the character does
what he does.
• “Any archetype can do anything –
the question will always be why.”
• Archetypes are not stereotypes;
they are not cookie cutters. They
can be considered a framework, or
even better, a lump of clay of a
particular color and consistency.
What needs to be in your thesis?
• Name the archetype
The Busy Body The True Friend
• Changed/Stayed the Same
• Media
• From seventeenth century to
Today