Part 8 Myth and Literature References to myths

Part 8 Myth and Literature References to myths enrich our enjoyment of literature, music, and performances.

Rationale • In this section we move from “living” mythology and ritual to literary works by artists who incorporate the stories, places, and characters from the mythological tradition in their own efforts. • As we read literary works — or listen to song lyrics and view films which contain elements of the mythological tradition — we can gain much more information and enjoyment if we are aware of the mythological connections they include. • Understanding mythological stories can provide access to what almost amounts to a secret language of unspoken references.

Changing Views on Using Myth in Literature • In the early days of Christianity in Europe, manuscripts about the ancient Greek and Roman gods were frowned on, as they represented stories about a rival religion, one which, in the minds of most people, had been replaced by Christianity. • By the Middle Ages, literary production grew at a constant pace, but the fear of non-Western, non. Christian influence led to an emphasis in art and literature on Biblical, religious, and ethnically heroic themes. There was not much knowledge of classical literature except for works by Ovid, used as allegory for Christian beliefs.

Changing Views on Using Myth in Literature, 2 • The wars called the Crusades (lasting 200 years from the end of the 11 th century) took many Europeans to Jerusalem and other parts of the Middle East. • In the great libraries maintained by Islamic empires, these Christians rediscovered the works of ancient Greek and Roman writers that often incorporated mythological stories. • A surge of interest arose in ancient Greek and Roman culture. This was called the Renaissance ("rebirth"). • The invention of the printing press in the mid-15 th century made classical literature more accessible to the reading public. • In turn, the lively interest in ancient Greece and Rome helped lead to a general shift from the religious and theological perspective to a more secular focus on all aspects of human nature (thus, the term “humanism").

Changing Views on Using Myth in Literature, 3 • In the 17 th century in England, George Chapman's translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey made Homer's epics even more widely accessible. Because most literate people were so familiar with traditional myths and their characters, poets often alluded to mythological figures in their works, even if the ancient story was not the main theme. • In the late 18 th century, classical mythology again came into favor in Europe. A good example of this trend is the popularity of a type of poem called the “pastoral. ” In it, Greek shepherds and shepherdesses inhabit an idealized and tranquil landscape — which in its simplicity seemed an antidote to the increasingly industrialized and urban world of the readers. • Later, archeologists were returning to Europe carrying statuary and huge pieces of ancient monuments. From the mid-18 th and throughout the 19 th century, the English, Germans, and other Europeans were getting to actually see remnants of the cultures of classical mythology, even without traveling to the Middle East. The personages and events depicted on these again excited the interest of the public as well as the academic communities.

Mythology in the Western Tradition Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References The Divine Comedy (early 14 th c. ) Dante Alighieri Dante travels with the Roman poet, Virgil. They meet figures from ancient Rome and Troy. Examples: Aeneas, Hector, Achilles, Helen, Minotaur. Troilus and Criseyde (1385) Chaucer Long tragic love poem about Troilus, a Trojan prince who loses his beloved to the Greek warrior Diomede. Aeneid (1557) Henry Howard English translation of Virgil's Latin work.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 2 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References "Venus and Adonis" (1593) William Shakespeare Mythological-erotic poem drawing upon the classical Roman poet Ovid. The Faerie Queen (1596) Edmund Spenser Epic poem. Spenser acknowledged his use of classical epic style, motifs, characters, etc. Hero and Leander (1598) Christopher Marlowe Mythological-erotic poem drawing upon the classical Roman poet Ovid; finished after Marlowe's death by George Chapman.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 3 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References The Iliad (1611) The Odyssey (1616) George Chapman Translations of Homer's works. Comus (1634) John Milton Masque presenting examples of chaste love, based on Odysseus's adventures. Examples: Cupid, Psyche, Venus, and Adonis. "Lycidas" (1637) John Milton Elegy in the form of a pastoral poem.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 4 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References The Fall of Hyperion (1819) John Keats Epic poem. Like Prometheus Unbound, it deals with the question of the source and elimination of evil. Examples: Hyperion, Saturn, Oceanus, Apollo. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" (1819) "Ode to Psyche" (1819) "To Homer" (1848) John Keats Poems. Addressed to the titled object or person, they praise the effect of ancient Greek influence on the poet. Examples: Arcadia, Olympus, Diana.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 5 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References Prometheus Unbound Percy Bysshe (1820) Shelley Symbolic drama. Continuing the story of Prometheus dramatized by Aeschylus, it illustrates Shelley's ideas on social justice and the problem of evil. "Ulysses" (1833) Poem. Uses Homeric characters and events to investigate the human problem of aging. Ulysses finds it painful that he did not travel more, and that he is now too old. Alfred Lord Tennyson

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 6 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References "The Sphinx" (1841) Ralph Waldo Emerson Poem. Uses images of the Sphinx and allusions to classical mythology, like Lethe and Jove, to argue against emphasis on particulars in life in favor of the eternal. "The Second Coming" William Butler (1920) Yeats "Leda and the Swan" (1921) William Butler Yeats Poem. Derives images from the Bible, for example, to describe Yeats’ philosophical views, incorporates the birth of Christ. Sonnet. Uses the ancient story of the fall of Troy as a metaphor for the political situation in Ireland. Uses classical Greek myth, refers to Helen and Paris, Agamemnon.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 7 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References Ulysses (1922) James Joyce Follows hero through one day in Dublin in 1904. No named references to classical Greek mythology, but in his notes, Joyce referred to various episodes by their Odyssey counterpart story, e. g. , Circe, Cyclops, etc. "Helen" (1924) Hilda Doolittle Poem. Helen of Troy. Mourning Becomes Electra (1931) Eugene O'Neill Modern American attempt to recreate the Oresteia of Aeschylus in light of the psychological theories of Freud.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 8 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References The Centaur (1963) John Updike Although set in mid-20 th-century Pennsylvania, characters represent classical Greek deities. The action takes place in the world we know, although the underlying motivations of the characters are rooted in their identities in mythology. “Yellow Woman” (1981) Leslie Marmon Silko Short story. Contemporary narration of ancient Navajo legend in which the heroine tries to deny her existence as the mythological Yellow Woman.

Mythology in the Western Tradition, 9 Title Author Genre / Sample Mythological References "The Tiger's Bride" (1995) Angela Carter Tale. Ironic retelling of "Beauty and the Beast. " "Snow White and the Anne Sexton Seven Dwarfs" (1971) Poem. Satiric presentation of Grimm brothers' fairy tale. Part of a series of such revisions in Transformations.

Further Trends • A growing body of literature in the United States reveals the richness of Native American mythology. • Folk and fairy tales often appear in modern literature. – New versions of classical fairy tales are aimed at particular audiences. These stories, or “duplications, ” maintain the ideas and belief system of the original, but alter them to suit a new audience. – More creative incorporations transfer old tales into other perspectives and styles of writing. These "revisions" are different from duplications. They draw upon a well-honored tradition without remaining bound to its aims or style of writing.