English Stages of Hero's Journey, Character Archetypes, the Epic and Epic Hero, and Trojan War Test Review

#1. The Ordinary World

Takes place in the hero’s ordinary world. Shows them going about their day-to-day business. Necessary to set the stage for their day-to-day lives so we know about the character before the quest.

Hero is a normal human being who is special in some way.

#2. Call to Action

Hero knows they’re going to have to go on an adventure. They know they’re going to have to do something to help keep their ordinary lives.

Hero is charged with a quest and being journey.

• The quest requires a journey through a vast setting to complete a challenging task.

#3. Refusal of the Call

(Doesn’t always happen.) Hero is reluctant to go on a journey and has to be pushed, or someone tries to stop them.

#4. Meeting the Mentor

(This may have shown up in the refusal of call stage.) Meeting the person that’s going to push them to go on their journey, or is just going to help them along and give guidance.

#5. Crossing the Threshold

Hero steps from his ordinary world into a special world. Can be a physical, spiritual, or emotional move and it doesn’t have to be into a new world. Once they pass, there’s no going back.

Hero travels to supernatural world.

•  Normal beings are usually barred from entering.

#6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies

The hero gains new buddies and new enemies, but the enemies aren’t going to be terrifying. The enemies just give the hero a glimpse into the new world.

Hero is tested.

• The hero is tested by villains and other antagonists to prove the worthiness of himself and his quest.

• Hero meets mythical/magical/helpful human beings.

#7. Approach to the Innermost Cave

Doesn’t have to be a cave, it can be a villain’s castle or an evil person’s layer. This is where the hero starts doubting himself. Gives the audience a sense of the magnitude of the situation. This is where the tension starts escalating.

#8. The Ordeal

The hero faces a great challenge or setback. This stage is often marked by feelings of despair and hopelessness. Low point and need someone to pull them out. Metaphorical resurrection.

Hero reaches a low point and seems defeated.

#9. Reward

Receive some sort of prize to head back home.

#10. Result

On the journey back home, they have to decide whether to fulfill their own goal which they haven’t fully done or they want or they want to go with a higher purpose.

#11. Resurrection

Climax. Big battles happen, the biggest obstacle is overcome. More than the hero is in danger. Hero succeeds.

Hero resurrects and overcomes the final obstacle.

#12. Return with the Elixir

The hero returns home, changed by their experiences. The hero may bring back a physical prize or a newfound understanding.

Hero receives restitution.

• Hero usually regains his rightful place on a throne or arrives home safely

Character Archetypes: The Protagonist

• A good hero or protagonist is one who want something (story goal), and sets out to get it.

• Protagonist’s Drive

  • Answering the question: “What do my characters want and why do they want it?”

• The protagonist is the audiance’s personal tour guide on the adventure that is the story. It’s critical that the audience can relate to them, because they experience the story through their eyes. During the journey, the hero will leave the world they are familiar with and enter a new one. This new world will be so different that whatever skills the hero used previously will no longer be sufficient. Together, the hero and the audience will mater the rules of the new world, and save the day.

Character Archetypes: The Shadow

• Knowing your hero’s drive is important, because that should be mirrored in your antagonist or villain, who will be the shadow archetype, or the antagonist.

• The shadow wants to stop the hero archetype from achieving his or her goal. While this character is often “evil”, there is often a reason, an opposite drive for the villain.

• To achieve this, the villain either:

  • Wants to achieve the opposite of what the hero wants and/or has a weakness, which is the hero’s strength.

Character Archetypes: The Mentor

The Hero’s main guidance throughout their journey, the Mentor comes in many forms, but they serve a critical purpose. This archetype is there to equip the Hero through knowledge, skills, and encouragement that allows them to be victorious in later conflicts, or to be wise in overcoming their flaws.

Character Archetypes: The Ally

• Allies function as the Hero’s companions. They may serve as co-travelers, conversationalists or even characters that help introduce the audience to the world of the story. They often complement the hero by fulfilling parts the hero may lack in, or help the hero discover alternative courses of action.

• Allies come in many forms; friends, sidekicks, animals, spirits, servants, etc.

Character Archetypes: The Herald

• The appears near the beginning to announce the need for change in the hero’s life. They are the call to adventure that sets the whole adventure in motion.

• This can either be an object or a character - or it can be someone who follows the call to adventure. 

Character Archetypes: Threshold Guardian(s)

• Threshold Guardians represent the common obstacles of life we all encounter. In storytelling, they serve ad opportunities for the hero to hest his or her abilities and grow in strength.

• These archetypes may take the form of lesser villains, natural forces, or puzzles. When bested by the hero, Threshold Guardians may sometimes turn into Allies.

Character Archetypes: The Shapeshifter

• The shapeshifter blurs the line between ally and enemy. Often they begin as an ally, then betray the hero at a critical moment. Other times, their loyalty is in question as they waver back and forth.

• Shapeshifters benefit stories by creatin interesting relationships among the characters, and by adding tension to scenes filled with allies.

Character Archetypes: The Trickster

The trickster adds fun and humor to the story. When times are gloomy or emotionally tense, the trickster gives the audience a welcome break. Often, the trickster has another job: challenging the status quo. A good trickster offers an outside perspective and opens up important questions.

Epic Definition

A lengthy, narrative work of poetry. These long poems typically detail extraordinary feats and adventures of characters from a distant past. The word “epic” comes from the ancient Greek term “epos,” which means “story, word, poem.”

Epics Often…

• Concern eternal human problems such as the conflict between good and evil.

• Written or told on a grand scale and often in ceremonial style.

Two types of epics

• Folk Epic - Oral compositions passed on from storyteller to storyteller and has changed over time. 

  • Mostly performed in front of a large audience.

  • Ex. Gilgamesh, Beowulf, the Iliad, and the Odessey

• Literary Epic - Written compositions that are unchanged overtime.

Epic Characteristic #1

The hero is a great leader who is identified strongly with a particular people or society.

Epic Characteristic #2

The setting is broad and often includes supernatural realms, especially the land of the dead.

Epic Characteristic #3

The hero does great deeds in battle or undertakes an extraordinary journey or guest.

Epic Characteristic #4

Sometimes gods or other supernatural or fantastic beings take part in the action.

Epic Characteristic #5

The story is told in heightened language.

Epic Conventions

Shared characteristics of epics writers drew upon to establish the epic quality of their poems.

Epic Convention #1

• There is an invocation or formal plea for aid/help.

• This plea is usually to a deity or some other spiritual power.

Epic Convention #2

• The action begins in media res.

• Literally meaning “in the middle of things”

Epic Convention #3

The epic begins in media res then flashes back to events that took place before the narrator’s current time setting.

Epic Convention #4

Epic Similies (a.k.a. Homeric simile) - elaborately extended comparisons relating heroic events to simple, everyday events using like, as so, and just as.

Epic Convention #5

Epithet: a descriptive phrase that presents a particular trait of a person or thing. It can be a quick aid to characterization.

Epic Hero Characteristics

• The epic hero is a “larger than life person” who embodies the highest ideals of his culture.

• The epic hero usually undertakes a quest/journey to achieve something of great value to themselves or society.

• Epic heroes “live on after death”, meaning they are forever remembered by those who live after them…

  • Achieving a type of immortality.

• Not a “Superman” with magical powers, but a “Regular” human (sometimes part god/part human) whose aspirations and accomplishments set him/her.

• Overcomes great obstacles/opponents but maintains humanity.

• Epic hero experiences typical human emotions/feelings, yet is able to master and control these humans traits to a greater degree than a typical person.

• It is often necessary for the epic hero to connect/make contact with “lesser” humans in order to succeed.

TRAITS OF THE EPIC HERO

• Brave

• Superhuman in strength

• Successful in battle

• Contemptuous of his wounds, even in death (to downplay the

• seriousness of the wounds)

• Born of noble stock, maybe even semi-divine

• Gains fame outside his own country

• Has a FOIL whose weakness makes the hero look better

• Extremely loyal

HOWEVER

the hero was not without flaws.

Epic Characteristics

The meter of epics varies depending on cultural custom. Ancient Greek epics and Latin epics were typically composed in dactylic hexameter. Old Germanic epics (including those in Old English) typically contained non-rhyming alliterative verse. Later English language epics were written in Spenserian stanzas and blank verse.

In what style is it written?

Formal style

Type of narration and narrator.

Contains third-person narration and an omniscient narrator.

What is a muse? How does the writer use the muse?

Frequently invokes a Muse who provides inspiration and guidance to the poet.

What kind of era does the epic poem unfold?

Takes place in an era beyond the range of any living memory.

What is typical of the setting and terrains? What does this mean?

Typically includes a journey across a variety of settings and terrains.

What traits does the featured hero embody?

Features a hero with immense bravery and resolve.

How does the writer pit the “hero against insurmountable odds?”

Includes obstacles and circumstances that are otherworldly and even supernatural—pitting the hero against nearly insurmountable odds.

Who is Eris and what was her role in the wedding snub? 

Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding between King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis.

What is the inscription on the golden apple? 

For the Fairest

 Who are the three goddesses on the short list of candidates? 

Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite

hy does Zeus refuse to make the selection? Why is he not in a position to publicly  announce the winner who is not Hera?

Zeus did not think Hera deserved it, but he could not publicly declare that because Hera was his wife and he was afraid of her.

How does Zeus get out of making the selection? 

Zeus recommends Paris, who is known to be an excellent judge of beauty.

Why is Paris out tending a herd of sheep? 

“...though a royal prince, (he) was doing shepherd’s work because his father...had been warned that this prince would some day be the ruin of his country....”

What are the bribes offered to Paris? How do those bribes align with the duties of each  goddess? 

HERA-promised to make him lord of Europe and Asia

ATHENA- promised to lead the Trojans to victory against the Greeks and lay Greece in ruins

APHRODITE-promised him the fairest woman in all the world

What do the two bribes rejected by Paris reflect about his character?

Paris was a weakling and something of a coward.

Who is Helen? What is her parentage? 

Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda (a mortal), was the fairest woman in all the world. She was raised by her mother Leda and King Tyndareus, her mother’s husband.

How did King Tyndareus secure safety for himself and Helen before he selected a husband for  Helen? 

“He, therefore, extracted first a solemn oath from all that they would champion the cause of Helen’s husband, whoever he might be, if any wrong was done to him through his marriage.”

Who does King Tyndareus select? What new title does he receive? 

Tyndareus chose Menelaus, the brother of Agamemnon, and made him King of Sparta as well.

How does Paris betray Helen’s new husband? 

While Menelaus is away, Paris breaks the bond between guest and host, luring Helen away and taking her away to Troy.

Where is Helen’s new husband when Paris breaks the bond between guest and host?

Crete

Who are the two chieftains who do not respond to the call by Helen’s husband to go retrieve her? 

Odysseus and Achilles

Why does Odysseus refuse to go to war to retrieve Helen? 

“...one of the shrewdest and most sensible men in Greece.”

He “didn’t want to leave his family to embark on a romantic adventure overseas for a faithless woman.”

What plan does he enact in order to get out of going to war? Why does it fail? 

Not wanting to go, he pretended to be mad by “plowing a field and sowing it with salt.”

The messenger, suspicious of this behavior, placed Odysseus’s son in the way of the plow. Odysseus swerved to miss killing his son, “thus proving that he had all his wits about him.”

What is the plan put in place by Achilles’ mother to keep him from going to war? Why does it  fail? 

She hid him in the court of Lycomedes and made him wear women’s clothes and hide among the maidens.

Odysseus was commanded to go find Achilles.

“Disguised as a peddler, he went to the court where (Achilles) was said to be....” He displayed trinkets women would love and fine weapons.

While the girls flocked around the trinkets, Achilles fingered the swords and daggers. Odysseus identified Achilles and took him off to war.

What are the two sides of the Trojan War? 

In the Greek side, King Menelaus was fighting to get Helen back, while on the Trojan side, Paris was fighting to keep Helen. King Priam was fighting to restore Troy’s honor.

How do the gods and goddesses align themselves on the issue of Helen and the Trojan War?

Hera, Athena, and Poseidon were on the Greek side. Zeus secretly favored the Greeks, but he did not want to support Hera. Publicly, he stayed neutral. Aphrodite, Ares, and Artemis were with the Trojans.

Who are the great warriors in the war for the Greeks? For the Trojans? 

The great warriors for the Greeks included Achilles, Odysseus,  Menelaus, Agamemnon, Ajax, and Diomedes. The great warriors for the Trojans included Paris and Hector.

What keeps the war raging for nine years?

The war raged for over 9 years because the gods and goddesses kept interferring.

Who designs the plan of the wooden horse?

Odysseus creates the wooden horse.

What are the key points of the plan for getting the Greeks into the city of Troy?

• They built the horse with the wood from some of their ships. It was huge so that it could hold several of the chieftains.

• The remaining men were to pack up the camp and move the remaining ships around the bend of a nearby island.

• One Greek would be left behind to present the gift of the wooden horse.

Who is Sinon? What is his role in the wooden horse plan?

• Sinon was the Greek left behind. He was dragged to King Priam to explain the horse.

• He claimed that the wooden horse was a gift to the Trojans as an offering to Athena. He explained that “the reason for its immense size was to discourage the Trojans from taking it into the city.”

• The Greeks hoped that the Trojans would destroy it, which would anger Athena.

Who is Laocoon, and what is his role in this plan?

Laocoon was a priest who warned the Trojans against destroying the horse. However, Poseidon (who favored the Greeks) sent two sea serpents to kill the priest.

Why do the Trojans roll the wooden horse into the city of Troy?

They were frightened by the sea serpents.

How do the Greeks defeat the Trojans?

Greek chieftains hiding in the belly of the hollow horse silently exited the horse. They opened the gates to Troy to allow the waiting army into the city. By morning, the Greeks had destroyed the buildings and killed the Trojan men. The women and children were taken and made into slaves.

What is the aftermath of the battle?

• Helen was returned to King Menelaus, who welcomed her back.

• “The Greeks went mad with victory the night they entered the city; they forgot what was due to the gods; and on their voyage home they were terribly punished.

• When the ten year war began, one thousand ships set sail to rescue Helen. At the end of the war, only twelve ships remained.

• Decisions made by Odysseus and his men resulted in ten years on the ocean to get home to Ithaca.