ENGL 2500 Lecture 1: Jan 9 - Introduction
Document Summary
Office: 310a paterson hall, tuesday 11:30am-1pm and wednesday 1-2:30pm. Attend two workshops on any topic and receive 5% bonus in the course. The classical world consists of italy and greece, with influence from egypt. 4 categories of myth: true/proper myth, legend, fairytales, and folktales. Myth vs. legend: history became legend, legend became myth. Myth covers gods; legends cover mortals and magical beings. Folktales and fairytales: fantastic beings, magic, heroes/heroines on a quest, damsels in distress, romantic love, entertaining and sometimes with a moral, and fairytales often for children. Reality: reality transitory, ephemeral, fragmented, insecure, and unpredictable. Myth absolute, timeless, unified, secure, and orderly. Myth and religion: myth gives authority to ritual. Mircea eliade: myths are attempts to locate the creation of the world in a sacred, timeless past. In telling myths, humans may reawaken the creativity of that past. The etiological interpretation of myth: myth explains origins of facts or customs.