Interpreting Vergil’s “Orpheus in the Underworld”: Comparing structuralism and Carl Jung’s archetypal theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/cjur.v1i1.201775Abstract
The myth, “Orpheus in the Underworld” from Vergil (Georgics, 4.453-4.527, translated in Trazskoma et al., 2004) is one of the many myths to feature the concept of katabasis, defined as “descent to the Underworld” (Herrick, 2014). This myth can be analyzed by two different approaches: The first is structuralism, and the second is Carl Jung’s theory on the “collective unconscious” (Dowden, 1992, pp. 17-23). Despite the validity of both methods, I will, in this paper, argue that Jung’s archetypal theory better unveils the intent and drive behind this myth.
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2016-04-01
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