(Northrop Frye) What is Archetypal Criticism? Archetypal criticism depends heavily on symbols and patterns operating on a universal scale. It is based on Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) psychological theory. Jung believed in a collective unconscious that lay deep within all of us and contained the “ cumulative knowledge, experiences, and images of the entire human race ” (Bressler, 1994, p. 92). Jung identified certain archetypes , which are simply r epeated patterns and images of human experience found in literature, such as the changing seasons; the cycle of birth, death, rebirth; the hero and the heroic quest; the beautiful temptress. The basis of archetypal criticism is that all literature consists of variations on a great mythic cycle within the following pattern: 1. The hero begins life in a paradise (such as a garden) 2. The hero is displaced from paradise ...