Easter is near. The right time to follow last week’s theme of storytelling derived from the seasons. I’ve always been fascinated by the way that different forms of storytelling, the narrative archetypes, relate to the seasons. Many years ago I wrote about this in my book We, me, them and it.
The special occasions and traditions that different cultures create and religions establish are closely connected to the seasons. European culture, with predominantly Christian traditions, places Christmas at the year’s darkest point to raise spirits when needed. Easter comes with spring, a cause for optimism. But I’m interested too in the way that Easter reflects the whole annual cycle in a short period.
Palm Sunday is a summer’s tale of happiness and rejoicing. Easter moves through an autumnal period of gathering concern, leading to the last supper. The crucifixion is a dark tale for winter, a sorrowful story of loss and death. But the resurrection marks a spirit of renewal, the arrival of spring.
What suits a tragedy? King Lear demands a bleak winter’s setting, or the blasted heath will not seem that blasted. Summer comedy. Autumnal satire. Spring romance. These might be the natural seasonal storytelling genres. Of course you can have a tragic summer and a comic winter, but our natural inclination, as writers and human beings, is almost certainly sending us in the direction of the narrative archetypes.
Watch out for them when you’re reading. Use them in your writing. And let me know any interesting examples that go with the flow of this idea or battle the tide against it.
