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Information about Wise Old Man

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A wise old man: "Philosopher in Meditation" by Rembrandt
The wise old man (or "Senex") is an archetype as described by Carl Jung. It is also a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.[1]

This kind of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting as a mentor. He may occasionally appear as an absent-minded professor, losing track of his surroundings because of his thoughts.

The wise old man is often seen to be in some way "foreign", that is, from a different culture, nation, or occasionally, even a different time, than those he advises. In extreme cases, he may be a liminal being, such as Merlin, who was only half human.

In medieval chivalric romance and modern fantasy, he often appears as a wizard.[2] In the same works, he can also feature as a hermit, who often explained to the knights -- particularly those searching for the Holy Grail -- the significiance of their encounters.[3]

Terminology

Jung dubbed this character as a senex. This is Latin for old man in general, and in fact, two stock characters of the stage are the senex iratus, an old man who irrationally objects to the love of the younger characters, and the senex amans, an old man foolishly in love with a woman too young for him. This senex, unlike these characters, has grown old graciously. His wisdom is not only in his increased knowledge and judgment, but his knowing that younger people have taken on the role of hero, and that his position has changed to one of mentor.

Merlin fell from the role of senex to senex amans when he fell in love with Nimue; this lapse from judgment is what led to his being enchanted and imprisoned.

Examples

Historical

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Xi Kang
Seven Sages of Greece Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove The Rabbis, or Sages of Talmudic lore (Judaism) Other "wise old men"

Mythology

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"Telemachus and Mentor" Illustration of Les Aventures de Télémaque by François Fénelon
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Merlin instructing a young knight, from The Idylls of the King

Literature

Fantasy literature

Comics

Television and film

Science fiction

Animation

Computer and video games

References

1. ^ Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, p 151, ISBN 0-691-01298-9
2. ^ Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, p 195, ISBN 0-691-01298-9
3. ^ Penelope Reed Doob, The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages, p 179-81, ISBN 0-8014-8000-0
4. ^ Josepha Sherman, Once upon a Galaxy p 80 ISBN 0-87483-387-6

See also

External links

Senex is Latin for old man. In Ancient Rome, the title of Senex was only awarded to elderly men with families who had good standing in their village.

Jungian Psychology


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archetype is a generic, idealized model of a person, object, or concept from which similar instances are derived, copied, patterned, or emulated. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior.
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Carl Gustav Jung

A recent edition of Jung's partially autobiographical work Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
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Literature literally "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter) as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary, or works of art, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry.
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A stock character is a one that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly
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In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace.
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For the 1961 Disney movie, see .

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The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an Interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across Britain. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of PPARC as a National Facility.
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romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Characteristics of the romance


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Fantasy media
  • Fantastic art
  • Fantasy anime
  • Fantasy art
  • Fantasy authors
  • Fantasy comics
  • Fantasy fiction magazines
  • Fantasy films
  • Fantasy literature
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Genre studies

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magician, wizard, sorcerer or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources.
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hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying "desert", "uninhabited", hence "desert-dweller"; adjective: "eremitic") is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation
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Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie
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Senex is Latin for old man. In Ancient Rome, the title of Senex was only awarded to elderly men with families who had good standing in their village.

Jungian Psychology


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The senex iratus or heavy father figure is a comic archetype character who belongs to the alazon or impostor group in theater, manifesting himself through his rages and threats, his obsessions and his gullibility.
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A senex amans (from Latin: "aged lover", "amorous old man") is a stock character of classical Greek and Roman comedy, medieval literature (e.g., fabliau) and drama. It is an old jealous man married to a young woman and thus often an object of mockery.
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Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, taking the dying king to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot
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Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since September 2007.
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Solon (Greek: Σόλων, c. 638 BC–558 BC) was a famous Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and Lyric poet. The travel writer, Pausanias, listed Solon among the Seven Sages of the ancient world.
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Location

Coordinates Coordinates:
Time zone: EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (min-max): 70 - 338 m (0 - 0 ft)
Government
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Chilon of Sparta or Chilo of Sparta was a Lacedaemonian, son of Damagetus and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. As an ephor he strengthened that position in Sparta. It is recorded that he composed verses in elegiac metre to the number of two hundred.
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Thales of Miletos (Θαλῆς ὁ Μιλήσιος, ca. 624 BC–ca. 546 BC), was a pre-Socratic Milesian[] philosopher and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
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Bias (Greek: Βίας ο Πρηνεύς), the son of Teutamus and a citizen of Priene was a Greek philosopher. Satyrus puts him as the wisest of all the Seven Sages of Greece.
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Cleobulus (Greek: Κλεόβουλος, Cleovoulos), the son of Evagoras, was a Greek philosopher and a native of Lindus. He lived as late as 560 BC.
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Pittacus (c. 640-568 BC) was the son of Hyrradius and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. He was a native of Mytilene and the Mytilenaean general who, with his army, was victorious in the battle against the Athenians and their commander Phrynon.
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Periander (Greek: Περίανδρος) was the second tyrant of Corinth, Greece in the 7th century BC. He was the son of the first tyrant, Cypselus.

Periander succeeded his father in 627 BC.
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Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Chinese: 竹林七賢) were a group of Chinese Taoist Qingtan scholars, writers, and musicians who came together in the bloody 3rd century CE.
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Ruǎn Jí (Chinese: 阮籍) is one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

He is associated with the guqin melody, Jiu Kuang ("Drunken Ecstasy") which was believed to be composed by him.
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Xi Kang or Ji Kang (223–262) was a Chinese author, poet, Taoist philosopher, musician, and alchemist.

As a thinker, he wrote on longevity, music theory, politics and ethics.
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