The Hero’s Journey: A series of limericks

Every once in a while, I have to tip my quill to Joseph Campbell, whose observations on comparative mythology arguably changed my life forever. After receiving a copy of The Hero With a Thousand Faces (1949), I was compelled to read every word Campbell had ever written. Not only that, but George Lucas also took inspiration from the same book when he wrote the original Star Wars films. Lucas explicitly built his story around the framework of Campbell’s quintessential Hero’s Journey. And like most members of my generation, that trilogy had a pretty profound influence on me.

The Hero’s Journey is like a blueprint that authors, poets and storytellers have used since time immemorial—both consciously and unconsciously—to construct the plots of all the greatest myths, legends, films and novels. Essentially, the story involves a character who leaves his place of comfort, faces and overcomes a great challenge, and comes home changed. In the words of Campbell, “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 man.”

Joseph Campbell breaks the hero’s journey into 17 individual stages. Other scholars of literature and folklore have divided the storyline differently, but the essence remains the same. Having examined the systems of Campbell, Christopher Vogler, and others, I settled on the cosmic number 12. And, of course, I’ve composed a series of catchy limericks to trace these 12 stages.

Whether you’re studying a religious myth, analyzing a film, or writing a novel of your own, the Hero’s Journey is a model that will help you see the story elements more clearly. And when it comes to making things more easily digestible, nothing is more simple and accessible than the trusty limerick, that most exalted of all poetic forms. Or at least that’s the assessment among my own limited circle of colleagues.

Hero’s Journey, part 1: Limericks of Departure

1. Ordinary World
      There’s thousands of stories like these
      A character, home and at ease
              But his life’s rather dull
              And inside there’s a pull
      To escape from this flatness he sees

2. Call to Adventure
      There’s a message received from afar
      Unexpected and somewhat bizarre
              The hero uprooted
              Will now be recruited
      To a little-known kingdom or star

3. Refusal of the Call
      Reluctant to heed the request
      Anxiety grows in the chest
              With a deep sense of doubt
              He’d prefer to opt out
      From being challenged or put to the test

4. Meeting the Mentor
      Now the guide and protector steps in
      With the knowledge and wisdom to win
              Though paradise hides
              The advisor provides
      So what’s golden can glitter again

5. The First Threshold
      To the realm of the dark and unknown
      Unfettered but never alone
              With new ways of thinking
              One’s doubts begin shrinking
      And boundaries are swiftly outgrown

6. Belly of the Whale
      In a chamber like nothing you’ve faced
      The initiate’s soul is laid waste
              Expunging old norms
              The devotee transforms
      In a womb where the self is replaced

Hero’s Journey, part 2: Limericks of Initiation

7. Road of Trials
      The passage through landscapes uncharted
      Is not to be travelled half-hearted
              Your foes will come curiously
              Take them all seriously
      Lest your ambitions be thwarted

8. The Ordeal
      There’s a principal primary task
      Which appears to be too much to ask
              But the tools you’ve been granted
              Will now prove enchanted
      To cast off the enemy’s mask

9. The Boon
      There’s a prize when at last you prevail
      But it’s not for the meek or the frail
              It’s a gift from the gods
              When you vanquish the odds
      And it may take the form of a grail

Hero’s Journey, part 3: Limericks of Return

10. The Return
      There’s a meaningful lesson to learn
      From the gift that you struggled to earn
              But the boon must be shared
              And the homeland repaired  
      So the journey demands your return

11. Resurrection
      There’s an ember consumed in the pyre
      Transformed by the Phoenix’s fire
              From out of nigredo
              And into rubedo
      The risen one soars so much higher

12. The Master of Two Worlds
      With a foot in each realm so it seems
      Of substance as well as in dreams
              At ease with the tension
              From either dimension
      Our hero’s resolved the extremes

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this thought-provoking series of limericks about the Hero’s Journey, please consider purchasing one of my books or subscribing to the blog. You might also want to check out some of these popular articles:

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