The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell StoriesThis remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 80
Page 8
... final section of the book , ' Why We Tell Stories , which begins with two very significant types of story which we have not looked at before . This relates myths about the creation of the world and the ' fall from innocence ' to the ...
... final section of the book , ' Why We Tell Stories , which begins with two very significant types of story which we have not looked at before . This relates myths about the creation of the world and the ' fall from innocence ' to the ...
Page 41
... final ordeal ' , Quatermass confronts the monster and somewhat implausibly persuades the three human beings who are still mysteriously part of it to resist its influence , even though this will involve their own suicide . This leads to ...
... final ordeal ' , Quatermass confronts the monster and somewhat implausibly persuades the three human beings who are still mysteriously part of it to resist its influence , even though this will involve their own suicide . This leads to ...
Page 44
... Final Ordeal'of the story, as a small team of space pilots, including Luke, who has now captivated the Princess as surely as she had entranced him, set off for a final showdown with the Dark Empire, on which the whole future of the ...
... Final Ordeal'of the story, as a small team of space pilots, including Luke, who has now captivated the Princess as surely as she had entranced him, set off for a final showdown with the Dark Empire, on which the whole future of the ...
Page 45
... final deadly assault by Darth Vader ; that Quatermass saves mankind from the extra - terrestrials ; that the tiny band of survivors escape the clutches of the triffids ; that James Bond escapes from the clutches of his villains ; that ...
... final deadly assault by Darth Vader ; that Quatermass saves mankind from the extra - terrestrials ; that the tiny band of survivors escape the clutches of the triffids ; that James Bond escapes from the clutches of his villains ; that ...
Page 48
... final decisive confrontation , and the story is likely to to run through these five stages : 1. Anticipation Stage and ' Call ' : We usually first become aware of the monster as if from a great distance , although in some stories we may ...
... final decisive confrontation , and the story is likely to to run through these five stages : 1. Anticipation Stage and ' Call ' : We usually first become aware of the monster as if from a great distance , although in some stories we may ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
THE COMPLETE HAPPY ENDING | 237 |
MISSING THE MARK | 345 |
WHY WE TELL STORIES | 541 |
The Light and the Shadows on the Wall | 699 |
Authors Personal Note | 703 |
Glossary of Terms | 707 |
Bibliography | 711 |
Index of Stories Cited | 715 |
General Index | 720 |
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Common terms and phrases
Aladdin Amleth anima Anna Karenina archetypal arrives beautiful become begins central figure centre century characters Comedy comes complete consciousness Creon Dark Father dark feminine dark figure dark masculine dark power Dark Rival death developed Don Giovanni Dream Stage egocentric egotism emerge eventually everything familiar fantasy film finally girl goal Hamlet happens happy ending heart hero and heroine hero or heroine human imagination inner James Bond Jane Eyre journey killed king kingdom liberated light lives look Macbeth married Moby Dick mother murder mysterious nature Nightmare Stage novel obsession Odysseus Oedipus ordeals Overcoming the Monster pattern play plot Princess Quest Rags to Riches realise recognise represents role seems seen sense shadow storytelling symbolic symbolised Teiresias tells Theseus thing Tragedy transformation true turn type of story ultimately uncon unconscious values Voyage and Return whole wife Wise Old woman young