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The monomyth is the cyclical journey undertaken by the standard mythological hero as described by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The core concept of the monomyth is: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow men."
The pattern of the monomyth can be found in more contemporary mythology as well. The pattern was followed by George Lucas in the original Star Wars trilogy (and followed more loosely in the prequel trilogy.) Other examples of the monomyth cycle are Disney's The Lion King in 1994 and Larry Wachowski's The Matrix in the 2000s.
Structure
The Monomyth is divided into three sections; each section consists of five subsections.
Departure
Call to Adventure
The quest always begins with the hero in a state of neurotic anguish. The call comes when the psychological forces of the mind (Id and Superego) become unbalanced.
Refusal of the Call
When that happens, the adventure can turn into its opposite, and things go sour.
Supernatural Aid
Along the way, the hero often encounters a helper, usually a wise old man, who gives the hero both psychological and physical weapons.
Threshold Crossing
The hero eventually must cross into a dark underworld, where he will face evil and darkness, and thereby find true enlightenment. Before this can occur, however, the hero must face off against and quell a threshold guardian.
Belly of the Whale
Having defeated the threshold guardian, the hero finds himself in a place of darkness. It's an ambiguous place of dream-like forms.
Initiation
Road of Trials
Once in the underworld, the hero is repeatedly challenged with mental and physical obstacles that must be overcome.
Meeting With The Goddess
With all the obstacles overcome, the hero can find bliss in the arms of a lover. This is the ultimate prize for the hero.
Woman as Temptress
However, this Goddess can also negate the hero's progress with lust. This can distract the hero from his ultimate goal and plunge him back into darkness.
Apotheosis
Father and son are often pitted against each other for mastery of the universe. To understand the father, and ultimately the self, the hero must reconcile with this ultimate authority figure.
Ultimate Boon
Having reconciled with the father and achieved personal enlightenment, the hero's psychological forces are again balanced. His new found knowledge, or boon, also has potential to benefit society.
Return
Refusal of the Return
Having found bliss and enlightenment in the underworld, the hero may not want to return with the boon.
Magic Flight
The hero may need to be rescued from without by humanity. This is followed a mad dash to return with the prize.
Crossing the Return Threshold
Before the hero can return to the real world, he must confront another threshold guardian. The first threshold was a symbolic death; this is now a symbolic rebirth.
Master of Two Worlds
Once the final threshold is crossed, the hero is now free to move back and forth between the two worlds at will. He has mastered the conflicting psychological forces of the mind.
Freedom to Live
With the journey now complete, the hero has found true freedom, and can turn his efforts to helping or teaching humanity.
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