The Seven Basic Plots

More about the book

[This book] provides [an] answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of "basic stories" in the world. Using ... examples, from ancient myths and folk tales, via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling.-Dust jacket.