An Analysis Of The Mythological Archetypes In The Song Of Ice And Fire

"A song of Ice and Fire",a series of fantasy novels written by American writer George R. R. Martin has won the favor of numerous readers, and a number of literary awards in the short term. Brimming with magical elements, the work employed multi-perspective narration, additionally, it concerns ultimate proposition such as survival and death. Nurtured in western mythical literature, Martin employs mythology to make his works more vivid and always reflect the shadow of the western myth, attracting the eyes of readers. Many of his characters have stylized nature, therefore, departing from literary anthropology, basing on Frye's mythological archetypal criticism and making Girard's "scapegoat" theory and the internal relations of the work as the breakthrough point, the author considers it possible to strip the fantasy coat step by step to analyze the deep myth prototype in the novel, The archetypal analysis of "A Song of Ice and Fire" totally includes five parts:Part one mainly introduces the significance of the research, the status at home and abroad of the relevant research. The second part presents the mythological archetypal criticism and the story "A Song of Ice and Fire", then exhibits the implicit myth prototype, leading to the purpose and significance of this thesis. In part three, by introducing the myth prototype theory " prophet", the author analyzes and explores the prophet images Bran Stark with different prophecy aristocratic and the vulgar Jojen Reed. The fourth part analyzes the protagonists, lame Eddard Stark, dwarf Tyrion and illegitimate Snow in employing Girard's "scapegoat" theory. Lame Eddard Stark in corresponded to the myth of hero Oedipus, both of whom sacrificed for disasters. While Tyrion and Snow are persecuted by the collective violence for the special marks. The fifth chapter attempts to analyze Daenerys by the Great Mother. Daenerys is the only positive female leader in this work which is full of violent male. The author mainly analyzes her versatility as goddess:wife, mother and Dragon Rider. Finally, this paper draws the following conclusions:the employ of the myth prototype in the work makes "A Song of Ice and Fire" be filled with mysterious primitive culture except for the stories of court fights and power struggles, thus, it embodies rich cultural connotations. Even more, ancient myths, historical facts and the writer's unique experience of life make "A Song of Ice and Fire" succeed in attracting a large number of readers, triggering a strong resonance in readers' mind.