The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960

The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960 PDF Author: Kathryn Hume
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501359886
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
Why do contemporary writers use myths from ancient Greece and Rome, Pharaonic Egypt, the Viking north, Africa's west coast, and Hebrew and Christian traditions? What do these stories from premodern cultures have to offer us? The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960 examines how myth has shaped writings by Kathy Acker, Margaret Atwood, William S. Burroughs, A. S. Byatt, Neil Gaiman, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Jeanette Winterson, and others, and contrasts such canonical texts with fantasy, speculative fiction, post-singularity fiction, pornography, horror, and graphic narratives. These artistic practices produce a feeling of meaning that doesn't need to be defined in scientific or materialist terms. Myth provides a sense of rightness, a recognition of matching a pattern, a feeling of something missing, a feeling of connection. It not only allows poetic density but also manipulates our moral judgments, or at least stimulates us to exercise them. Working across genres, populations, and critical perspectives, Kathryn Hume elicits an understanding of the current uses of mythology in fiction.

The Illustrated Book of Myths

The Illustrated Book of Myths PDF Author:
Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
ISBN: 9780756622237
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A collection of myths from many cultures.

The Fiction of Raja Rao

The Fiction of Raja Rao PDF Author: Mittapalli Rajeshwar
Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Dist
ISBN: 9788126900183
Category : Authors, Indic
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Raja Rao Is One Of The Triumvirate Of The Pioneering Indian Novelists In English. His Contribution To The Growth Of The English Novel In India Is Enormous. Each One Of His Novels Is A Trendsetter. Kanthapura, For Instance, Demonstrates How The English Language Can Be Used To Tell A Typically Indian Story Without Violating The Native Speech Rhythms And His The Serpent And The Rope Gave A New Direction To The Indian Novel In English By Philosophising It. His Range And Vision Transcend All Barriers. He Used The Fictional Medium To Portray His Patriotic And Philosophical Concerns In A Masterly Way.In This Volume, An Attempt Has Been Made To Assess Raja Rao S Novels And Short Stories In Terms Of His, Philosophy, Vision, Style, Themes And Techniques. It Is Hoped That Raja Rao Scholars Across The Globe Will Find The Book Irresistible.

The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960

The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960 PDF Author: Kathryn Hume
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501359886
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
Why do contemporary writers use myths from ancient Greece and Rome, Pharaonic Egypt, the Viking north, Africa's west coast, and Hebrew and Christian traditions? What do these stories from premodern cultures have to offer us? The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960 examines how myth has shaped writings by Kathy Acker, Margaret Atwood, William S. Burroughs, A. S. Byatt, Neil Gaiman, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Jeanette Winterson, and others, and contrasts such canonical texts with fantasy, speculative fiction, post-singularity fiction, pornography, horror, and graphic narratives. These artistic practices produce a feeling of meaning that doesn't need to be defined in scientific or materialist terms. Myth provides a sense of rightness, a recognition of matching a pattern, a feeling of something missing, a feeling of connection. It not only allows poetic density but also manipulates our moral judgments, or at least stimulates us to exercise them. Working across genres, populations, and critical perspectives, Kathryn Hume elicits an understanding of the current uses of mythology in fiction.

Myth Formation in the Fiction of Chinua Achebe and Amitav Ghosh

Myth Formation in the Fiction of Chinua Achebe and Amitav Ghosh PDF Author: Nilanjan Chakraborty
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527560031
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
This book studies culture in terms of myths and how they function to construct the identity of communities. It focuses on myth formation in the fiction of Chinua Achebe and Amitav Ghosh, two major twentieth century authors from Nigeria and India respectively. The book analyses how these two authors use myth in their works to study the cultural mores of the societies they represent. Achebe represents the Igbo community of Nigeria and Amitav Ghosh represents various communities in India in both the pre-colonial and postcolonial phases, ranging from Bihar to Sundarbans in south Bengal. The book focuses on the area of myth studies in the postcolonial area of study, delving into a comparative study between the two authors and how they contribute to myth studies through their fiction.

Intende, Lector - Echoes of Myth, Religion and Ritual in the Ancient Novel

Intende, Lector - Echoes of Myth, Religion and Ritual in the Ancient Novel PDF Author: Marília P. Futre Pinheiro
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110311909
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Representation of myth in the novel, as a poetic, narrative and aesthetic device, is one of the most illuminating issues in the area of ancient religion, for such narratives investigate in various ways fundamental problems that concern all human beings. This volume brings together twenty contributions (six of them to a Roundtable organized by Anton Bierl on myth), originally presented at the Fourth International Conference on the Ancient novel (ICAN IV) held in Lisbon in July 2008. Employing an interdisciplinary approach and putting together different methodological tools (intertextual, psychological, and anthropological), each offers a illuminating investigation of mythical discourse as presented in the text or texts under discussion. The collection as a whole demonstrates the exemplary and transgressive significance of myth and its metaphorical meaning in a genre that to some extent can be considered a modernized and secular form of myth that focuses on the quintessential question of love.

Shashi Deshpande

Shashi Deshpande PDF Author: T. M. J. Indra Mohan
Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Dist
ISBN: 9788126903092
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
The Present Book Is A Thorough Critical Analysis Of Shashi Deshpande S Works And Has Been Prepared Keeping In Mind The Requirements Of Students In Indian Universities And Colleges. While Choosing The Critical Essays, The Broad-Based Study On The Author Has Been Given Due Significance In This Volume. This Book May Also Provide A Useful Insight To The Foreign Readers As The Essays Are Written By The Indian Experts Who Understand And Live Within The Socio-Cultural Context Of India. However, The Feelings As Portrayed By The Novelist Is Universal, Placed In The Situation, The Same Would Be The Predicament Whether Male Or Female As The Writer Universalizes Certain Basic Emotions Irrespective Of National Character. It Is Fervently Hoped That This Book Would Stimulate Further Research Into The Domain Of Indian Women Writers Works To Focus Certain Aspects Hitherto Unexplored.

The Classic Myths in English Literature

The Classic Myths in English Literature PDF Author: Charles Mills Gayley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English literature
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Book Description


Myth and Literature

Myth and Literature PDF Author: William Righter
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040027717
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
First published in 1975, Myth and Literature considers three points at which the concept of myth has entered modern literary imagination: the use of myth – or atleast their understanding of myth -- as a creative opening by modern writers, its exploration by critics as an interpretive device, and the analogy between certain ‘sense-making’ functions of ‘myth’, ‘fiction’ and literature itself. All three of these roles show the gradual movement from a point of precise demand to a diffuse and variable concept which is more pervasive because less distinct. The paradox of myth is shown to lie in its simultaneity of its corruption with the growth of its power over the modern literary mind. This book will be of interest to students of literature and history.

The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture

The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture PDF Author: Mary J. Magoulick
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 149683707X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Honorable Mention for the 2022 Elli Köngäs-Maranda Prize awarded by the Women's Section of the American Folklore Society Goddess characters are revered as feminist heroes in the popular media of many cultures. However, these goddess characters often prove to be less promising and more regressive than most people initially perceive. Goddesses in film, television, and fiction project worldviews and messages that reflect mostly patriarchal culture (included essentialized gender assumptions), in contrast to the feminist, empowering levels many fans and critics observe. Building on critiques of other skeptical scholars, this feminist, folkloristic approach deepens how our remythologizing of the ancient past reflects a contemporary worldview and rhetoric. Structures of contemporary goddess myths often fit typical extremes as either vilified, destructive, dark, and chaotic (typical in film or television); or romanticized, positive, even utopian (typical in women’s speculative fiction). This goddess spectrum persistently essentializes gender, stereotyping women as emotional, intuitive, sexual, motherly beings (good or bad), precluded from complex potential and fuller natures. Within apparent good-over-evil, pop-culture narrative frames, these goddesses all suffer significantly. However, a few recent intersectional writers, like N. K. Jemisin, break through these dark reflections of contemporary power dynamics to offer complex characters who evince “hopepunk.” They resist typical simplified, reductionist absolutes to offer messages that resonate with potential for today’s world. Mythic narratives featuring goddesses often do, but need not, serve merely as ideological mirrors of our culture’s still problematically reductionist approach to women and all humanity.

The Mythology of Evolution

The Mythology of Evolution PDF Author: Chris Bateman
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1780996500
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This book liberates evolution from misrepresentative scientific myths to find a more nuanced vision of life that shows how advantages persist, trust is beneficial, and the diversity of species emerges. ,