I looked up the word archetype the other day. I thought the word just referred to broad types of characters in literature. Boy did I have a few surprises. Seriously, some of what I read bored the tar out of me. I didn’t care about the ways that some of the heroes were developed, and I didn’t need to delve too deeply into the life and times of the philosophers who created the categories. But I loved the psychology behind the project.

Four Main Categories of Heroes

Classical – special background, fantastic abilities, focused on his task, external battles – usually tragic, character unbalanced toward perfection with one fatal flaw, seldom changes through the story.

Romantic – every man, engaged in community, focused on those around him, more internal than external battles – seldom tragic, balanced character with realistic flaws and positive attributes, active character arc with growth during the story.

Modern – anti-hero, isolated, focused on himself, both internal and external battles – often tragic, character unbalanced toward negative attributes, active character arc but not always with positive growth during the story.

Medieval – can be noble or not, isolated or grouped, with honor-bound external battles – some internal battles and a balance between tragic and victorious elements, character unbalanced on the surface with pure and righteous attributes.

I have to tell you, just learning about these main categories stimulates my imagination. I can identify heroes of each of these types in the books I read and movies I watch. So I have a little quiz. What category of hero is each of these?

1. The men of Oceans 11
2. Tom Hanks character in Saving Private Ryan
3. Fitzwilliam Darcy
4. Prince Charming
5. Luke Skywalker
6. Captain Ahab
7. King Arthur
8. Forrest Gump

Okay, here are the answers I came up with:

Your turn! Reveal my take. Are yours different?

Highlight this line for the answers: modern.medieval.romantic.classical.classical.modern.medieval.romantic|