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 78
Page 5
... journey towards some distant , enorm- ously important goal . I embarked on an almost indiscriminate course of reading and re - reading , through hundreds of stories of all kinds ( soon recognising how little most of us actually remember ...
... journey towards some distant , enorm- ously important goal . I embarked on an almost indiscriminate course of reading and re - reading , through hundreds of stories of all kinds ( soon recognising how little most of us actually remember ...
Page 7
... journey . And before we embark I should set out a brief route - map , so that it will become clear how the different stages of that exploration build on each other in working towards the eventual goal . This book is divided into four ...
... journey . And before we embark I should set out a brief route - map , so that it will become clear how the different stages of that exploration build on each other in working towards the eventual goal . This book is divided into four ...
Page 13
... same source, are shaped around the same basic patterns and are governed by the same hidden, universal rules. At this point our journey can begin. PART ONE The Seven Gateways to the Underworld ' When 13 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL NOTES.
... same source, are shaped around the same basic patterns and are governed by the same hidden, universal rules. At this point our journey can begin. PART ONE The Seven Gateways to the Underworld ' When 13 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL NOTES.
Page 21
... journey, when he was crossing the wild desert region then known as Mesopotamia, his curiosity was aroused by a series of mysterious mounds in the sand. He paused to investi- gate them, and thus began one of the most important ...
... journey, when he was crossing the wild desert region then known as Mesopotamia, his curiosity was aroused by a series of mysterious mounds in the sand. He paused to investi- gate them, and thus began one of the most important ...
Page 22
... journey to Dr No's distant lair , where he finally comes face to face with the monster . They enjoy a series of taunt- ing exchanges , then embark on a titanic struggle . Against such near - supernatural powers , it seems Bond cannot ...
... journey to Dr No's distant lair , where he finally comes face to face with the monster . They enjoy a series of taunt- ing exchanges , then embark on a titanic struggle . Against such near - supernatural powers , it seems Bond cannot ...
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