The Quest From The Seven Basic Plots By
The Quest From The Seven Basic Plots By Christopher Booker
Examples of Quests • Arthurian/Grail legends • Dante’s Divine Comedy • Homer’s Odyssey • The Lord of the Rings • Indiana Jones movies • Moses and the Hebrews
Essence of the plot • Far away, there is a priceless goal, worth any effort to achieve: a treasure, a promised land, something of infinite value. The hero sets out on a hazardous journey to attain the goal and overcomes any number of perilous hindrances in order to achieve the objective.
The Call • The quest usually begins on a note of urgency: it is no longer possible for the hero to stay “at home” or stationary. Something has gone disastrously wrong, or a faraway threat looms.
The Hero’s Companions • A distinctive mark of the Quest is that the hero is not alone in his adventures. • Four general forms • The companions can be large in number and “throwaway” extras; or • An alter-ego of the hero whose most outstanding feature is his fidelity (‘faithful Samwise Gamgee’ in The Lord of the Rings); or • An alter-ego who serves as a foil (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza); or • A balanced party distinguished by skills, generally ‘brains’, ‘brawn’, and ‘soul’.
The Journey • The constriction-and-release rhythm emerges here as the hero and his companions undergo terrifying ordeals, then experience periods of respite from helpers along the way. • Often the terrain itself presents a problem to the company: waste lands, labyrinths, forests, mountains, etc.
Four Obstacles (1) • Monsters: • Polyphemus the cyclops (Odyssey) • Shelob and the ‘Black Riders’ (The Lord of the Rings) • Black Knights (Arthurian legend). • Threatens the hero through confrontation.
Four Obstacles (2) • Temptations • ALL EXAMPLES FROM THE ODYSSEY • Death – The beautiful but deadly sires who only aim to kill • Captivity – Circe who imprisons but does not kill. • Distraction – Calypso who captivates Odysseus that he stays seven years in her cave. • Self-indulgence – The land of the lotus eaters which saps all will in an atmosphere of relaxed self-indulgence.
Four Obstacles (3) • Deadly Opposites • Hero sees the road ahead leading between things • Two roaring lions • Giant whirlpool and giant sea monster • Two walls of crush water • Balancing on a ledge between two edges and must avoid falling off. • Two Sphinxes
Four obstacles (4) • The Journey to the Underworld • Sometimes just a horrifying experience • More often a chance for the hero to contemplate his future, life and death, actions and consequences, etc. • The hero can consult with others long dead for guidance on his quest.
The Quest: helpers • “The old man” and “young woman” are two benevolent figures that feature prominently in Quest tales
Final Ordeals • The journey in a Quest only makes up half of the story; when the goal is finally within sight, the hero must face a final ordeal or series of ordeals. • It is this final struggle which is necessary for the hero to lay hold of his prize and secure it.
Plot Outline • The Call • Life in some “City of Destruction” has become oppressive and intolerable, and the hero recognizes that the only way to rectify the situation is to take a long and perilous journey to achieve some related goal. • The Journey • Hostile terrain • Series of life-threatening ordeals (monsters, temptations, etc. )
Plot Outline • Arrival and frustration • The hero arrives within sight of his goal, but a singular or series of terrifying obstacles looms before him. • The Final Ordeal • Last series of tests (often three) to prove he is truly worth of the prize • The Goal • After a last “thrilling escape from death”, the life-renewing goal is achieved.
- Slides: 14