An archetypal name is a proper name of a real person or mythological or fictional character that has become a designation for an archetype of a certain personal trait.[1] It is a form of antonomasia.
Archetypal names are a literary device used to allude to certain traits of a character or a plot.[1]
Literary critic Egil Törnqvist mentions possible risks in choosing certain names for literary characters. For example, if a person is named Abraham, it is uncertain whether the reader will be hinted of the biblical figure or Abraham Lincoln, and only the context provides the proper understanding.[1]
Archetypal names for persons
Archetypal names for groups
A name may also be an identifier of a social group, an ethnicity, nationality, or geographical locality.[1]
Some of the names below may also be used as ethnic slurs.
Archetypal names for traits
Real persons
Fictional or mythological characters
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Egil Törnqvist (2004) "Eugene O'Neill: A Playwright's Theatre", ISBN 0-7864-1713-7, Chapter 8: "Personal Names and Words of Address"
- ^ "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow". arf.ru. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-10. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ Handy, B.; Swaeny, G. (2003-08-18), The Summer of Bruce, Time Magazine, retrieved 2008-03-10 CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ Takeda Hiroko (2004) "The Political Economy of Reproduction in Japan", ISBN 0-415-32190-5
- ^ Ehrlich, Eugene (2014-01-28), What's in a Name?: How Proper Names Became Everyday Words, Henry Holt, retrieved 2020-08-04 CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)