Rank–Raglan mythotype
Hero archetype / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In narratology and comparative mythology, the Rank–Raglan mythotype (sometimes called the hero archetypes) is a set of narrative patterns proposed by psychoanalyst Otto Rank and later on amateur anthropologist Lord Raglan that lists different cross-cultural traits often found in the accounts of heroes, including mythical heroes.[1][2]
Otto Rank developed his concept of the "Mythic Hero" in his 1909 text, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero that was based on Freudian ideas. It includes a set of 12 traits that are commonly found in hero myth narratives.[2] Lord Raglan developed his concept of the "Mythic Hero" as an archetype, based on a ritualistic interpretation of myth, in his 1936 book, The Hero, A Study in Tradition, Myth and Drama. It is a set of 22 common traits that he said were shared by many heroes in various cultures, myths and religions throughout history and around the world. Raglan argued that the higher the score, the more likely the figure's biography is mythical.[1] Raglan did not categorically deny the historicity of the Heroes he looked at, rather it was their common biographies he considered as nonhistorical.[3]
The "Hero's Journey" (or monomyth) is a common story structure explored by anthropologists and mythologists. The concept of a standard narrative archetype of a monomythical "hero's quest" that was reputed to be pervasive across all cultures is controversial. The study of hero myths started in 1871 with anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor's observations of common patterns in plots of hero's journeys.[4] Later on, others introduced various theories on hero myths such Otto Rank and his Freudian psychoanalytic approach to myth,[5] Lord Raglan's unification of myth and rituals,[4] and eventually hero myth pattern studies were popularized by Joseph Campbell, who was influenced by Carl Jung's view of myth, in his 1949 work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. It illustrates several uniting themes of hero stories that hold similar ideas of what a hero represents, despite vastly different cultures and beliefs. The monomyth or Hero's Journey consists of three separate stages including the Departure, Initiation, and Return. Within these stages there are several archetypes that the hero or heroine may follow including the call to adventure (which they may initially refuse), supernatural aid, proceeding down a road of trials, achieving a realization about themselves (or an apotheosis), and attaining the freedom to live through their quest or journey.[6]
These theories have been criticized by scholars as being very flawed and loose to the point that historical persons such as Abraham Lincoln would fit the mythotypes.[7] Furthermore, "one should make obvious that many fictional non-royal figures will score low on the scale, while historical rulers will start off with a number of points automatically" which would lead to false mythotyping of historical persons.[8]