A damsel in distress, a knight in shining armour, a villain are all examples of archetypes. While these are character archetypes, an emotion, an idea, a setting, a situation etc could also form archetypes. Archetypes in stories represent a shared and recurring human experience, from different cultures and/ or periods from across the world. Archetypes hold a universal component in the collective human unconscious.
In a story, the representation of a beautiful lush green landscape would signify love for nature, fertility, hope or romance while the colour black or the darkness would indicate danger or sorrow. A chirping bird in the morning would convey joy or optimism while the cry of a nightbird would often mean evil or as a foreteller of fearful events.
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