The monomyth
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Source: Wikipedia articles about
Joseph Campbell and his work
One of Joseph Campbell's main insights was that important myths from around the world which have survived for thousands of years, all share a fundamental structure - the monomyth. This structure contains a number of stages, which include:

Joseph Campbell
1904-1987
American writer on
comparative mythology and religion.
  1. a call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline

  2. a road of trials, regarding which the hero succeeds or fails

  3. achieving the goal or "boon," which often results in important self-knowledge
  4. a return to the ordinary world, again as to which the hero can succeed or fail
  5. application of the boon in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world.
 In a well-known quote from the introduction to The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell wrote:
"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

The classic examples of the monomyth relied upon by Campbell and other scholars include the Buddha, Moses, and Christ stories, although Campbell cites many other classic myths from many cultures which rely upon this basic structure.

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