Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Like Shapes Moving In Another World: An Identification And Interpretation Of Mythical Figures In C. S. Lewis’ Novel The Silver Chair, Benjamin S. Perkin

Student Research

As a result of his conversion to Christianity, author C. S. Lewis felt compelled to formulate a unique definition of myth. From his perspective, myth is a means through which God communicates His truth to the non-Christian world. Myth recognizes the yearning for home all people experience yet cannot satisfy, but while it correctly diagnoses humanity’s symptoms, myth fails to treat the underlying disease responsible for them. The influence of non-Christian, specifically Greek, myth can be felt most strongly in The Silver Chair, the sixth installment of Lewis’ series The Chronicles of Narnia. Through the allusions this essay explores, in …

Noticing The Brush Strokes: Literary Markers In Hebrew Narratives, Shelbey Hunt

Masters Theses

As the people who set out to write, edit, and form the Bible may have used embellishments to enhance their narratives, could they also have left literary markers to help the reader chart a course between the historical and the enhanced? The purpose of this thesis is to find these literary markers. Exposing any potential grammatical or syntactical signpost can help the reader understand how they should view a given Biblical story and help reveal the messages the authors behind the scripture were sharing. The book of Jonah will be used as a case study to both discover and elaborate …

Denial And Acceptance: A Core Myth Of Orpheus And Eurydice In The Modern Lyric, Brian O. Murdoch

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

The story of Orpheus’s failed attempt to bring Eurydice back from the dead is a frequently used theme in literature and in the modern lyric in particular, and it has been the subject of sometimes excessively complex critical attention. One core of the myth, however, is the need for the living to face and to accept the fact of the death of someone close to them. Modern lyrics in different European languages—the heirs to the classical myth—make clear how Orpheus’s attempt to bring his wife back from Hades was always impossible, and that his reaction was thus a form of …

Hell And Unhappiness In Larkins’S ‘High Windows’, Thomas Dilworth

English Publications

[This essay is a revision of an article entitled ‘Larkin’s “High Windows”, published in The Explicator 60:4 (Summer 2002), 221-3]

Judicial Rhetoric And The Rhetoric Of Myth In "Till We Have Faces", Maria Wilkening

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

C.S. Lewis is unquestionably one of the more enduring influences in the 20th century, due in part to his personal popularity during his lifetime, as well as to his prolific and approachable oeuvre in wide-ranging genres such as apologetics, fiction, and public debate and address. Lewis has only become more popular since his death, with continued interest building after the more recent development of movie interpretations depicting both his fiction and life. C.S. Lewis’s corpus is certainly vast, and even more has been written about C.S. Lewis and his writings since his death. Strong scholarship exists, particularly in the areas …

Mythmaking Across Boundaries, Edited By Züleyha Çetiner-Öktem, Sarah Beach

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of Fanfiction: An Examination Of Two Deeply Connected Traditions Of Storytelling, Fionntan I. Ferris Mr.

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Fanfiction is an often dismissed medium of storytelling, however our investigation shows that it is deeply linked to the storytelling tradition of Classical mythology. Through the lens of classical reception studies we will examine the shared structures of these mediums as well as the deeper meaning they have and had to their audience in order to establish this deep connection. This paper will conclude with an investigation of why, despite their deep similarities, copyright law has led to fanfiction becoming derided while myth is placed on a pedestal.

Mythic Circle #44

The Mythic Circle

Greetings, Subscribers, Contributors, and Readers, All, and welcome to the 2022 edition (issue #44) of The Mythic Circle, the creative writing publication of The Mythopoeic Society. With this issue, we continue our 44-year-old tradition of offering our members and the general public a selection of fiction, poetry, and images that develop, extend, or recapitulate the mythic concepts used by J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and the other Inklings, and also by mythic storytellers from pre-literate antiquity to the modern world.

This issue begins with the proper publication, in its intended form, of a poem that was misrepresented in …

He Had Two Women To Die For, Ireland And The Missus”: Mothers As Abject And Sons As Scapegoats In Edna O’Brien’S House Of Splendid Isolation And In The Forest, Emily Nix

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis examines the protagonists in Edna O’Brien’s In the Forest and House of Splendid Isolation and applies Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection and Rene Girard’s theory of the scapegoat. In doing so, I attempt to give a richer understanding of O’Brien’s masculine and feminine characters and how their constructed identities are based on their cultural circumstances and positions in their societies. I use Kristeva’s theory of abjection to analyze the single women in these novels, Eily and Josie, who become metaphorical single mothers by the invasions of young men into their homes. Then, I apply Girard’s theory of the …

The Fabric Of Time Myth, Bogie Bougas

The Tuxedo Archives

Back in the days of Ice and fog, on a cold and bitter morning, when the snow fell so high it blotted out the low rising sun, Time came down from the heavens as a naked lamb. “I am cold,” she said. “Who amongst you will weave me a garment strong enough to see me through these bitter days?”

Scientific Interpretation Of Fantasy Works And Their Types, Dilshod Nasriddinov

Philology Matters

In the process of global development in all areas of science, various new knowledge has appeared. Including fantasy in world literature fantasy which began to be considered as one of the significant directions of the literature. In this article, the researcher proves the fact that fantasy has its own fundamental basis in the formation of this area, and the scientific theory of myths, fairy tales and knights, components of the fantasy content. The author justifies his scientific and theoretical approach to the scientific views of foreign scientists with respect to Fantasy. This attracted the attention of all literary critics and …

B'Ars And Catamounts: A Study Of Davy Crockett Through Genre And Medium, Jack Fieweger

Honors Theses

This project seeks to investigate and discuss the changes and variations that have occurred to the mythology of David Crockett over the course of time. Initially appearing as a literary character in 1833, the likeness of Crockett has appeared in a myriad of different texts including: biographies, almanacs, plays, dime novels, comics, television shows, and films. The project attempts to discern how these different iterations of medium and genre altered the mythology of David Crockett. In order to methodologically understand these changes, this project makes use of W.T. Lhamon’s concept known as the Lore Cycle. Lhamon identified that lore diffuses …

Comparative Analysis Of Mythological Names And Mythologisms In The English And Uzbek Literature, Darmonoy Urayeva, Gulbahor Nazarova

Philology Matters

It is surprising that in English and Uzbek folklore and literature there are similarities in the expression of mythological images, despite the fact that they are from different language systems and different continents far from each other. British folklore is rich in a variety of images, which, with their distinctive features, have a place not only in English but also in world literature. Such images are distinguished by their versatility and have both negative and positive character traits. No matter which world literature we look at, we can find the translation of myths, legends, and fairy tales in that language …

“No Roses, White Nor Red, Glow Here”: The Motif Of The Garden In Two Proserpine Poems By A. Swinburne And D. Greenwell, Cristina Salcedo González

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In this article, I discuss Algernon Swinburne’s and Dora Greenwell’s engagement with the myth of Proserpine through an analysis of the motif of the garden, which takes central stage in both accounts. The examination will illustrate how the authors’ outlined images of the garden challenge the dominant representation of the motif within Western literary tradition, offering a re-interpretation of the myth as social commentary.

Hózhó, “To Walk In Beauty And Balance”: Indigenous Writers Decolonize Theories Of Myth, Aaron Laughlin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In this project, I argue for an Indigenous theory of myth in order to reconsider popular and academic paradigms about myth and its function. My goal is to articulate how Indigenous understandings might revise these paradigms by emphasizing myth as a means to foster ethical relationships of health and balance within ourselves and in the world. Inspired by the Indigenous writers Leslie Marmon Silko, Thomas King, and Gerald Vizenor, I outline how these authors think, write, and talk about the concept of myth. I explain prevailing academic paradigms, including the term’s long history of associations with old-fashioned, “primitive,” superstitious stories …

A Branch Of Magic, Or The Possibility Of Myth In Esther Kinsky’S Am Fluß, Ben Pestell

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

This article demonstrates how literary walks can evoke myth in a meaningful way for contemporary life. In particular, through a close reading of Esther Kinsky’s Am Fluß [River], I argue that the landscape experienced on foot can articulate and give access to the transcendent component of myth. I begin with a survey of how magic and transcendent experience is configured in related literary forms (namely new nature writing, the post-secular, new materialism, and the literature of re-enchantment) but remains bound by material reality. I then define the meaning and function of myth in relation to contemporary literature. These …

Poetic Functions Of The Transformation Motif In Written Literature, Darmon Uraeva Dsc, Professor, Nargiza Kadirova Senior Teacher

Philology Matters

By means of comparative-typological tools the article describes the ‘Transformation’ motif as one of the most ancient, traditional motifs in the oral and written literature of the world. It explains the existence of general and specific features comparing poetic appearances and functions; correlation between genesis and mythological thinking, as well as the usage of remnants in modern literature on the basis of poetic innovations.
The ‘Transformation’ motif has been used in the written literature since ancient times. In the written literature, this motive occurs in the plot construction of poetic, prose, and dramatic works. It is also widely used in …

The Ubume Challenge: A Digital Environmental Humanities Project, Sam Risak

English (MA) Theses

In 2019, the “The Momo Challenge” frightened parents in the United States into believing “Momo” would appear online where she’d lure their children into harming themselves. While this challenge is one of many recent viral hoaxes, “Momo” is not simply a product of our digital age. Known as the ubume (“birthing-woman”), the figure who provides the face for “Momo” has lived for centuries in Japanese folklore where yokai (supernatural creatures) often caution listeners against entering unchartered parts of the land. And once Japan industrialized, so too did their “unchartered lands,” the ubume reborn to fit the cities and technologies that …

Poetics Of Myth In Ch. Aitmatov's Works, Dilfuza Pardaeva Senior Teacher Of The Department Of Russian Language And Literature

Philology Matters

The article deals with the use of myth poetics in Ch. Aitmatov's works. The author analyzes principles of the writer's use of elements of myth poetics, which perform certain artistic functions in the works. The problem of the artistic functions of myth in fiction has been the subject of discussions that continue till our days. Reviewers, literary critics emphasize the problem of myth poetics, its functional significance and transformation of myth in modern fiction. Specifically, mythology contains in itself the germs of art, religion, and science is still undeveloped form and unity. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of …

The Romance And The Real: A. S. Byatt’S Possession: A Romance, Jordana Long

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Demonstrates Possession’s mythic elements, in particular, how the encounter between the fictitious Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash and his daughter Maia in the novel’s Postscript constitutes Ash’s confrontation with Slavoj Žižek’s famous interpretation of the Lacanian Real. Building on Žižek, argues that Ash’s encounter with the Real actually springs from and mediates grace. This reimagining of the Real is an integral element of myth and introduces the mythic into Possession, giving it the qualities of a Romance.

The Warped One: Nationalist Adaptations Of The Cuchulain Myth, Martha J. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I trace the use of the mythic Irish hero Cuchulain by early Irish nationalists. From 1878 to 1939, Standish James O’Grady, Lady Augusta Gregory, and William Butler Yeats employed this figure for specific political and cultural agendas. Cuchulain makes a fitting symbol for the “poet warrior” stereotype that was purposely and incidentally cultivated during the cultural nationalist phase of the Irish Literary Revival, when writers were beginning to explore the Cuchulain myth to demonstrate cultural and linguistic ideals. Nationalists found in Cuchulain a symbol that could tie the cultural to the political and the political to the …

Myth In Sam Shepard’S “The God Of Hell” And Its Political Implication, Diana Baisheva Teacher

Philology Matters

The article introduces the creative work of the famous American playwright Sam Shepard, whose works are almost unknown to our Uzbek reader. His plays are wellknown throughout the world; they influenced the formation of the worldview of readers of different nations and show the peculiarities of American culture. Despite the worldwide fame of Sam Shepard’s works, they are not studied well by literary critics. In America and Europe his works have been studied in details for a long period, and even several monographs in English have been written. However, neither in the Russianspeaking, nor in the domestic literary criticism there …

"Dawn And Doom Was In The Branches": Eros Revisited In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Fernando M. Duran

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Cultural And Narrative Shifts Of Nineteenth Century Children's Literature In Hawthorne's Wonder Book For Girls And Boys, Kristen Clark Brandt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Both folklorists and literary critics have been drawn to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s body of work because of his distinctive style and incorporation of folk motifs. Such motif-spotting presents no challenge in Hawthorne’s juvenile literature like his retellings from Greek mythology in Wonder Book for Girls and Boys; however, contemporary folklore redirects the focus of this scholarship to “how particular literary uses of folklore fit into a larger, more fundamental concept of what folklore is and how and what folklore communicates” (de Caro & Jordan 2015:15). Hawthorne’s work interacts with other forms of cultural expression in the nineteenth century such as dominant …

Attack On Frost Giant: How Shingeki No Kyojin Examines The Nordic Cycle Of Fate, Rachel Truong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the most prevalent themes in Norse mythology is the cycle of destiny, which can never be changed, even by the will of the gods. This same idea is often presented in works that parallel their stories with those of Norse mythology, such as Hajime Isayama's graphic novel, Attack on Titan. The presence of ancient stories in a modern storytelling medium opens the door to allowing these myths and the values and lessons they convey to endure into the modern day. This study explores the strong parallels between Attack on Titan and Norse mythology to reveal how Isayama modifies …

The Mythological Perspective Of Modern Media: Cross-Cultural Consciousness And Modern Myths, Rebecca E. Evans

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This piece assesses the cultural implications of modern narratives that incorporate classical mythology, specifically focusing on the hero’s journey. When the similarities of different myths across different cultures are analyzed, it becomes clear that there are modern analogs that incorporate mythic qualities and cultural values. These mythic foundations are analyzed here in popular works like Harry Potter, Star Trek, and Legend of Zelda, where the hero’s journey becomes an almost universal experience that inspires cross-cultural consciousness. The hero’s journey has evolved from a simple literary tool into a cross-cultural touchstone that shapes narratives into familiar works of cultural significance across …

Mythic Quest In Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde, Graley Herren

Faculty Scholarship

Blonde on Blonde epitomizes Bob Dylan’s debts to the classics. The album depicts the mythic quest of a hipster-hero descending into the Underworld in pursuit of the Muse. The hero resembles Dylan but is augmented by the experiences of mythic figures like Orpheus and Odysseus. The singer encounters bizarre figures and wanders in exile through the “Lowlands” searching for the goddess—a figure inspired by Sara Dylan, but also a composite of the White Goddess, Persephone, Eurydice, and others. Dylan’s mythic adaptations are also informed by the syncretic work of T.S. Eliot, Joseph Campbell, and Robert Graves.

Stepping Out Of Photographs: Stopping The Myth Of The Vanishing Native Through Reclaiming Personhood In The Edward Curtis Project, Mari Murdock

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

No abstract provided.

An Idol Of The Old Errors, Amy Kaye Lafferty

MSU Graduate Theses

This work is a collection of short stories exploring the religious, social, psychological, and relational consequences of territory and isolation. Though not necessarily within the same world, they are set in modern times and exemplify similar commentaries on religious structures in rural, Midwestern America.

Eldritch Horrors: The Modernist Liminality Of H.P. Lovecraft's Weird Fiction, Dale Allen Crowley

ETD Archive

In the early part of the twentieth century, the Modernist literary movement was moving into what was arguably its peak, and authors we would now unquestioningly consider part of the Western literary canon were creating some of their greatest works. Coinciding with the more mainstream Modernist movement, there emerged a unique sub- genre of fiction on the pages of magazines with titles like Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. While modernist writers; including Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, William Faulkner, and T.S. Elliot – among others – were achieving acclaim for their works; in …