The Stages of the Hero's Journey
By Christopher Vogler
All stories consist of common structural elements of Stages found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies. These twelve Stages compose the Hero's Journey. What follows is a simple overview of each Stage, illustrating basic characteristics and functions. Use it as a quick-reference guide as you explore the genre and movie analyses. Since it cannot provide all of Christopher Vogler's insights upon which it was based, I recommend you refer to his book, The Writer's Journey, for a much more thorough evaluation.
The paradigm that follows illustrates the "traditional" Hero's Journey as seen in the majority of stories. As you explore the film and genre analyses that follow, you'll find that the Hero's Journey provides a flexible and adaptable model with the potential for an infinite variety of shapes and progressions of Stages. The Journey's Stages may be avoided, repeated, or shifted about depending upon the needs of the individual story.