I think one of the most foundational works of literary analysis is archetypal theory. Joseph Campbell developed this view of literary traditions across times and cultures and it really does seem to help organize the major works I've read. The Hero's Journey, which is the particular archetype dealt with in THTF gives a fairly good shorthand for thinking about characters.
More than this, though, Campbell is really positing that these archetypal patterns are or can be a way of viewing the world. It brings order to the chaos of daily life in a way that other analytical theories don't do. Over the next few days I hope to look at this book and the different stages of the Hero's Journey to see what Campbell saw as well as to see how this book might help us all to bring a little more order to our lives. (Or at least the illusion of order, which is a rather lovely thing, too.)
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