From the earliest days, storytellers have known the simple truth: strong characters may carry a weak plot, but weak characters cannot be hidden by a strong plot. High or low, brilliant or average, characters whose stories survive through the ages are those heroes and heroines that ring true to the human spirit. Their personalities, tragedies and triumphs and their decisions made in the heat of the battle strike a chord of recognition in all who hear the tale.

Why does this happen? Why do some characters reach into the collective heart and pluck the heartstrings of the reader while others are immediately discarded into the dustbin of memory? A true hero or heroine is one who taps into the universal emotions and feelings. This four-week course, Heroes and Heroines (Sixteen Master Archetypes), covers a broad analysis of the basic male andfemale archetypes populating the vast field of literature and film.