The Shadow in Mythology

The shadow is probably most suited in mythology by either of the greek gods Cronus or Hades. I say Cronus because he was a shadow out of fear. A prophecy told him that one day one of his children would overthrow him. So what did he do? HE ATE HIS #%$@ING CHILDREN! Zeus was the only one who didn't get eaten so when he got old enough he kicked Cronus in his stomach and out came Zeus' brothers and sister. In this picture you can see Cronus doing what i said he did a couple lines up.



















Picture found at arthistoryarchive.com

The Shadow in Symbols and in Subcategories

Picture found at bebo.com





The symbols of the shadow is just full of examples. Though it is usually something that is cool looking and dark. As an example I have added that dark symbol up there. Looks cool doesn't it? That is because the shadow is one of the well known archetypes of literature and other forms of entertainment. The opposite of the hero or the anti-hero. It can be the rival of the hero or maybe it is something that has to be destroyed. However it is used is up to the person using it.

The Shadow in Poetry

The shadow has a good role in poetry just look at some of Shakesperes sonnets. Alot of those are really dark and talk about death. However alot of those one written by him have not been recovered. So instead read this sonnet by some really pissed off kid. It shows how the shadow can give us some extra power in all parts of our body when anger or a different emotion is spurred. But in the end it all leads to sadness.

sonnet found at buzzle.com

I lie here with my heart cut up and slain; anger and sadness course through me whole. My mind seems to process only the pain as darkness infects my once free, clean soul. Broken and empty I turn into nothing; lacking life as hope is then taken away all because you made me feel like something,. Can you tell me why you had to betray? Knowing the truth would have helped clear the lie and then I could stand to think about you but you just had to make me want to die. You lied to me, this love was never true. So now I am only a black abyss simply because of your dark, lying kiss.
By Ian Stevens

The Shadow in Videogames

Picture found at gamespot.com

The shadow figure is found in almost all forms of entertainment. Especially video games. For example, Shadow the Hedgehog a near replica of Sonic except he is more violent and dark and will do whatever it takes to get to where he is the best even if it means killing.

Picture found at gamespot.com

Mario even has a evil self in one of his games just its alot crappier. Shadow Mario is the evil Mario except he is framing the real one. The shadow Mario however jsut turns out to be something else though(play the game you will see what I am talking about) but nonetheless he is still the darker part of Mario portrayed in this watery creature with a giant paintbrush(which is used to help frame Mario).

The Shadow in Song Lyrics

THREE DAYS GRACEOne XAnimal I Have Become[ THREE DAYS GRACE Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ] I can't escape this hell/So many time i've tried/But I'm still caged inside/Somebody get me through this nightmare/I can't control my self/CHOURS:So what if you can see/The darkest side of me/No onewill ever change this animal i have become/Help me believe it's not the real me/Somebody help me tame this animal/This animal, this animal!/I can't escape myself/So many times I've lied/But there's still rage inside/Somebody get me through this nightmare/I can't control myself/CHOURS/Help me believe/It's not the real me/Somebody help me tame this animal/Sombody help me through this nightmare/I can't control myself/Somebody wake me from this nightmare I can't escape this hell/This animal, this animal, this animal, this animal/This animal, this animal, this animal, this animal/CHOURS/Help me believe/It's not the real me/Somebody help me tame this animal!/This animal I have become

Song Lyrics found on songlyrics.com

The shadow is found all over the place in music the most obvious one is this song by three days grace. Just read the lyrics and you will see what i mean. Enjoy

The Shadow in Entertainment pt.2

Picture found at Gamespot.com

There are times where the shadow can take near complete control of your being and you are helpless to do something. There are cases where it's a good thing (read post before this one), but there are times where there is nothing good about it and it destroys your relationships. A great example of this is in Spiderman 3. After getting everything he wants tanks to the symbiote is telling him what to do and say, he does something that the symbiote tells him to do (which is hitting Mary Jane watch the movie if you want info) he tries to get rid of it. He was sucussful but he created a new monster.

Picture found at mwctoys.com

Venom is the remainder of the symbiote (shadow) merged with Eddie Brock (who let it take over) and used it to be evil and get revenge on Spider-man for ruining his life and such.

The Shadow in Entertainment Pt.1

There are many depictions of the shadow archetype. For instance "The Shadow" is a super hero from a old time radio show. It was made into a movie starring Alec Baldwin. The shadow is a super hero that could cloud the mind of man which helped him keep out of sight and freak out his enemies. This is what he looks like.

Picture by Mlpeters.com
While he is fighting crime he also has to battle his inner evil which is the source of his power. The shadow is trying to keep himself from hurting the ones he cares about. Sounds alot like The Black Suit Spiderman huh?