Essay on The Epic Hero Archetype in Films, and Literature

As Beowulf possessed incredible the strength of 30 men, Luke Skywalker the force, and Harry Potter magic, epic heroes continue in every form of today’s entertainment and storytelling. Every culture from the beginning has had their own tales of heroes accomplishing great feats that no one else could. An epic hero is an icon for everyone to relate to, they symbolize different lessons to learn. The epic hero archetype exists as a source of entertainment but also as a demonstrative tool. Their morals and actions are there to help shape our own actions in life. The archetype of an epic hero is unchanging; it stands against the test of time to give us reassurance in the good moral values of human life. Characterized from the beginning, epic†¦show more content†¦Finally heroes head out on one final call to action on a major quest. This final quest is where they must prove themselves, and stand for what they truly believe in. It is these morals that the hero believes in that cause the readers strong involvement with the hero. Over the course of time the epic hero, like most archetypes has never really evolved. Regardless of whether or not you are comparing King Arthur to Star Wars, the archetype hinges on the same concepts. An observer would note that the only thing that truly changes is the style of the time; a medieval versus futuristic difference. Set that one difference aside and the similarities are strikingly similar. Both King Arthur and Luke never knew their fathers and were placed under the protection of guardians. We also see that, Arthur was trained by Merlin and Luke by Obi wan Kenobi. The archetype consistently repeats itself in not just in these two examples of storytelling. You can always draw connections between any two types of literature involving an epic hero. Tristan and Isolde is therefore comparable to Shrek because of both their quests lead to rescuing a princess and proving their w orth. Overall the epic hero archetype will never change. It has a strong relevance to everything people do in their daily life, be it religion, education or entertainment. Epic heroes draw out a strong emotional response from the reader because they want to be like the hero. The hero adds courage to aShow MoreRelatedExamples Of Archetypes In The Odyssey1291 Words   |  6 PagesArchetypes in The Odyssey All humans have ideals and patterns in common. Humans from a thousand years ago and humans in modern times have archetypes. Archetypes are characters, actions, or situations that are repeated in all human life. Archetypes are found in myths, legends, dreams, films, music, literature and several other forms of entertainment. In fact, The Odyssey, a prominent piece of writing, contains many archetypes. 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