Keats' Apollo:
Myth in English Romantic Poetry
Myth-Criticism: A Working Definition
Myth-Criticism is an interpretative approach to literature which may be
used in conjunction with other approaches and reading techniques. A myth-critical
approach generally uncovers or identifies manifestations of mythology
in a literary work--whether as the creation of an original myth, as the
appropriation of a traditional mythological figure, story, or place, or
in the form of allusions--and uses these mythological elements to aid interpretation
of the work. While there has been some debate over the limitations of myth-criticism
and the form it ought to take, myth-criticism is nevertheless a valuable
tool equiping the critic to deal with the literary practise of mythopoeia,
or "myth-making." The term mythopoeia lays emphasis on the artist's appropriation
of mythological elements (traditional or original) as an inherently creative
act, an act of shaping. We are especially concerned here with traditional
mythologies since they can appear to resist the shaping force of the artist's
hands. When an artist imports a traditional myth into a literary work,
the artistic rendering of myth is placed into a dialogical relation with
the work and the myth-tradition. Myth shapes the meaning of a literary
work with all the depth and breadth of its accumulated meaning, while its
manifestation in the literary work breathes life into the tradition by
both passing it on and adding to its meaning. Myth-criticism is concerned
with the moment of contact between the often wide and varied tradition
of a myth, especially as it is understood by the author and audience, and
the literary work which contains a particular manifestation or interpretation
of the myth. How does the myth inform the work? And how does the work change
the myth? In other words, why and how does the artist use the myth and
how does he or she interpret it?
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created 5/6/97