The objective of this thesis is to investigate examples of mythological motifs regarding their history and meaning. The thesis aims to show that the symbolic language used in myths, legends, folk and fairy tales have an important role within modern society and still have an effect on people's lives. Chapter I gives an overview of the Lady of the Lake tales contained in John Rhys' work Celtic Folklore Welsh and Manx and investigates whether those tales express in symbolic language actual historic events and issues of the times during which those tales were formulated. Chapter II widens the perspective by looking at various examples of water legends in Wales which are related to the Lady of the Lake cycle. It becomes evident that the uniting factor of all those tales is that they deal with conflicting ethical systems. Chapter III engages a detailed analysis of the motifs contained in the Legend of the "Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach" and combines the historic interpretation approach with a psychological method of interpretation. Chapters IV and V are concerned with tracing the motifs discussed in the previous chapters in twentieth-century works. Chapter IV looks at how one author uses motifs and universal symbols to make personal statements. Chapter V interprets the Walt Disney cartoon "The Little Mermaid". The Conclusion expands on the previously introduced idea of the development of the human mind. It has been suggested that symbolic language can reflect aspects of human reality and an attempt has been made to show how symbolic language operates. The Conclusion discusses the idea that the mythological way of thinking should be amalgamated with the rational capabilities of the human mind in order to create a new and effective understanding of reality.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-06-27T12:23:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 2597204 bytes, checksum: 93adc2c2f6c11eb964b51941bf768654 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-27T12:23:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 2597204 bytes, checksum: 93adc2c2f6c11eb964b51941bf768654 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-28 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Heavy chains had been keeping Ireland attached to the English colonial system. During seven hundred years, Ireland had been fighting for its political, military, financial and religious independence. The nationalists, arising from the process of seeking for sovereignty, had idealized on the historical roots and on the necessary weaponry for their national project to succeed. This path, nonetheless, pervaded the Celts, the people that became the nation’s spirit for the national movement. Thus, the myths, tales and ancient Gaulish folk tales were freshend. Literature became one of the most important pillars for Ireland’s independence enterprise. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) founds the Celtic Twilight characterized by a group that started, in short, the presentation of the Irish people, by emphasizing to the Celtic inheritance over culture though drama. By this time, Yeats writes The Countess Cathleen, a play that opens both Celtic Twilight and Abbey Theater, in Ireland. The plot presents the conflicts of a community devasted by starvation. It spins around a heroic character, Countless Cathleen, the action evolves with the appeal for the nationalist sacrifice. By offering her soul towards the country people, Cathleen evokes pagan and Christian myths, in a plot that inspires historical facts and political ideals. In this scenario, our work has for its purpose to investigate the building of Cathleen as an Irish heroin, and the folkloric tales used by Yeats during this learning process of this main character for the play, during the action. For this, we turn to theorists like Propp (1984), Sperber (2009), Campbell (2007), Bettelheim (2012). Due to the Romantic aesthetics overlaid Yeat’s plot, we also had to carry a historical and theoretical analysis on Romantic movement main aspects, especially the movement that brought to life medieval feelings through the Medieval Revival during the nineteenth century. The analysis is built as symbolic and allegorical literature reflecting , respectively , the engagement of the work to the Celtic folklore and the political purpose of the nationalist struggle waged by Yeats / Pesadas correntes mantinham a Irlanda presa ao sistema colonial inglês. Durante setecentos anos, os irlandeses lutaram por sua independência política, militar, financeira e religiosa. Os nacionalistas, resultado do processo de busca pela soberania, idealizaram nas raízes históricas do país as armas necessárias para que seu projeto nacional tivesse êxito. Esse caminho, porém, perpassava pelos Celtas, povo que se tornou para o movimento nacionalista o espírito da nação. Sendo assim, os mitos, os contos e as lendas folclóricas ancestrais gaulesas foram revividas. A literatura se tornou um dos pilares mais importes no projeto de independência da Irlanda. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) funda a Renascença Celta que ficou caracterizada como um grupo que começou de forma concisa a representação do povo irlandês, dando ênfase à herança céltica na cultura através da dramaturgia. Com isso, Yeats escreve The Countess Cathleen, peça do dramaturgo que inaugura a Renascença Celta e o Abbey Theater, na Irlanda. A trama encena os conflitos de uma comunidade devastada pela fome. Centralizada em uma personagem heróica, a Condessa Cathleen, a ação desenvolve-se como apelo ao sacrifício nacionalista. Ao ofertar sua alma em prol dos camponeses, Cathleen evoca mitos pagãos e cristãos, numa trama que mimetiza fatos históricos e ideais políticos. Diante desse cenário, nosso trabalho teve como proposta investigar a construção de Cathleen enquanto heroína irlandesa e como os contos folclóricos Celtas foram utilizados por Yeats nesse processo de aprendizado da personagem central da peça durante a ação. Para isso, nos voltamos a teóricos como Propp (1984), Sperber (2009), Campbell (2007), Bettelheim (2012). Devido à estética Romântica que reveste a trama de Yeats, tivemos ainda que fazer uma análise histórica e teórica dos principais pontos Romantismo, principalmente o movimento que reviveu no século XIX os valores e sentimentos medievais através do Medieval Revival. A análise constrói-se, como uma literatura simbólica e alegórica refletindo, respectivamente, o débito da obra ao folclore Celta e ao propósito político da luta nacionalista travada por Yeats.