Student Activities
- Article: "The Lord of the Rings" & Campbell's Functions of Mythology
J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings left a powerful legacy not only as one of the first modern fantasy novels but also as a work that echoes the heroic stories of ancient cultures. - Article: An introduction to the Hero's Journey
Christopher Vogler's book, "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers," draws from the psychology of Carl Jung and the mythic studies of Joseph Campbell. Contains links to other supporting articles. - Article: The Hero's Journey
Linked pages provide for more in-depth study of each of the stages of the Hero's Journey. - Article: The Hero's Journey: A Complete Guide
An explaination of the Hero’s Journey, where it comes from, and why it’s so useful. Examines each of the stages, with examples from popular fiction: "The Hunger Games," "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone," "Interview with a Vampire" and "Interstellar." - Comprehension: The Hero's Journey
Joseph Campbell's book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" explores the common journey that heroes from different works of literature take. In this informational text, Jessica McBirney further discusses this common structure of storytelling that Campbell identified.
- Worksheet: Monomyth Chart [PDF]Students can use this worksheet to identify the various stages of Campbell's monomyth in film or literature. This particular version works well with Star Wars, but is easily adaptable to other films or literature. (Includes more stages than the Hero's Journey worksheet listed.)
- Worksheet: The Hero's Journey [PDF]This worksheet gives an overview of the Hero's Journey, as outlined by Joseph Campbell and others. Each step is listed, along with examples from film and literature.
- Interactive: Literary Elements Map
Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author. (Secondary-level interactive.) - Interactive: Venn DiagramThis interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organise their information logically.
Lesson Plans
- Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: A Better Screenplay in 17 Steps
An explanation all of the Hero’s Journey’s 17 steps and examples in the modern canon, for the purpose of writing a screenplay. - Playlist: Inside the Hero's Journey
16 episodes breakdown Campbell's stages, as outlined in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces."
Videos: The Hero's Journey
The Hero's Journey 101: Joseph Campbell hero's journey explained all the hero's journey stages + concepts [12:17 mins]
This the hero's journey explained. We will go through Joseph Campbell hero's journey. It will explain each of the hero's journey stages as well as characters and basic preconditions for how Joseph Campbell's hero's journey works.
SOURCE: Story Maniac (2020) The Hero's Journey 101, posted on YouTube, https://youtu.be/ljPPKp8NEXc
The Hero's Journey [7:38 mins]
SOURCE: theherocc (2011), The Hero's Journey, posted on YouTube, https://youtu.be/KGV1BvnyvGo
The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25 [13:20 mins]
This week on Crash Course World Mythology, we're talking about the Hero's Journey and the Monomyth, as described by Joseph Campbell. Campbell's theories about the shared qualities of human story telling are pretty cool. And they've been hugely influential on the way we tell stories today.
SOURCE: Rugnetta, Mike (2017), The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth, posted on YouTube, https://youtu.be/XevCvCLdKCU
Hero's Journey: 12 steps explained [3:25 mins]
A 12 step summary for students reference for accessing the Heroes Journey.
CITATION: Brunswick Secondary College, (2017) Hero's Journey: 12 steps explained, posted on Clickview, https://clickv.ie/w/hGDs
Netflix's Myths & Monsters: Joseph Campbell & The Hero's Journey ("Heroes & Villains," S1E1) [5:03 mins]
In this segment from the Netflix series Myths & Monsters, learn about Joseph Campbell's theories surrounding myths, storytelling and The Hero's Journey.
CITATION: Writer's Digest (2018), Netflix's Myths & Monsters: Joseph Campbell & The Hero's Journey, posted on YouTube, https://youtu.be/DwnxYXOTy94
Joseph Campbell and the Myth of the Hero's Journey [8:38 mins]
In this video we explore the relationship between mythology and the unconscious, and look at the monomyth Joseph Campbell called the myth of the hero's journey.
CITATION: Academy of Ideas (2016), Joseph Campbell and the Myth of the Hero's Journey, posted on YouTube, https://youtu.be/4288NRq1vVc