Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Committee on Social Thought, June 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

This thesis examines Shelley's interest in the mythologies of non-Christian cultures. It argues that Shelley's use of mythology can be best understood as an artistic response to his perception of contemporary historical events and within the context of the hostility of the younger Romantic poets towards the religious and political beliefs of the elder generation. The theological defence of the Mosaic account of the origins of the world by orthodox Christians set against the sympathy towards pagan culture expressed by secular historians and antiquarians of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries forms a recurrent theme in the background to Shelley's interest in myth. While criticism has often seen Romanticism itself as a mythological tendency in defiance of Enlightenment scepticism, the starting-point for Shelley's examination of the origins of religious belief, witnessed in "Mont Blanc", is his refutation of Christian monotheism and his preference for an explanation of the basis of religion and mythology in the primitive fear of Nature. Combined with his Enlightenment optimism in historical progress, the use of Zoroastrianism encourages the invention of his own myths of origins and of historical destiny in Prometheus Unbound and "The Witch of Atlas", which overcome the regressive doctrine of original sin and defy the historical actuality of the failure of the French Revolution. The presence of the Orient in Shelley's mythological poetry can be interpreted in terms of a critique of "Romantic Hellenism", a category which has failed to account for his sympathy with the popular natural religion of Bacchus, a figure associated in classical history with the East, who represents the antithesis of the rational, Hellenic Apollo. In the final two years of his life, Shelley develops a different kind of mythologised history in which an idealist defence of the poet is incorporated into the Enlightenment concept of philosophical history. It is this investment which he questions in "The Triumph of Life".

Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Theatre, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 20, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Inaug.-diss.-Munich.

This dissertation traces the course of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in classical and later Western literature. Three particulars about myth serve to unify the discussion: myth evolves in literature; its meaning changes through the ages; some myths evolve art-forms in which to express themselves. Myth evolves in literature: Chapter I examines the twenty-one references to or treatments of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in Greek and Roman authors, and attempts to show that the traditional story of Orpheus' backward glance and the second loss of Eurydice is a Hellenistic development of a story originally connected with Orphic mysteries. The fully developed myth is seen to combine elements of myth, legend and folklore. The meaning of myth changes through the ages: in the classical period (Chapter II), the separate themes in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, themes of death, music and love (stemming from the mythical, legendary and folk elements, respectively), are stated in the Culex; but Orpheus for this age is primarily a great civilizing influence, and this is the context in which Virgil places him in the Georgics. In the Middle Ages (Chapter III), the myth is allegorized in Boethius and romanticized in the Middle English poem Sir Orfeo. In the Renaissance (Chapter IV), Orpheus is once more a symbol of the civilizing force, and the descent to Hades, though often alluded to, is less important than other myths in the Orpheus-cycle. The Orpheus bequeathed to literature by the opera (Chapter V) is more human and fallible, and in the Romantic age (Chapter VI) this figure is gradually fused with the mystical Orphic poet, so that the contemporary Orpheus of Rilke and Cocteau (Chapter VII) is again a symbol, but of man in his role of artist, seeking to communicate with another world. Myth sometimes evolves art-forms in which to express itself; Politian's Orfeo, a secular subject which used music to tell its story, is seen to be the forerunner of the opera (Chapter IV); later, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice evolved the opera, in the works of the Florentine Camerata and Monteverdi, and served as the pattern for its reform, in Gluck (Chapter V). While the myth has meant something different to every age, there is a uniformity in its tradition: poets have always availed themselves of one or more of its three themes - the victory of death over life, the civilizing power of music, the problem of human emotion and its control. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this essay is to determine the use to which Hugh MacLennan has put his knowledge of classical literature, especially myth, in writing three of his novels. The novels are first considered individually and are then related to one another to indicate the development of their structures and themes, MacLennan's technique and thought. The first chapter shows MacLennan's affinity for classical literature, indicates the general critical awareness of classical elements in his novels, and also shows how mythic analysis is of use in interpreting the novels. Central to MacLennan's use of classical myth is Homer's Odyssey, and the basic plot and characters of the Greek epic are described, indicating what MacLennan chooses from the classic for his own purposes. The importance of myth, as such, is considered, and it is suggested that MacLennan himself has attempted to write a "myth" appropriate to modern Canada. The second chapter is a consideration of Barometer Rising, indicating mythic parallels and relevant structures of imagery. The plot structure is examined and is compared to the mythoi or archetypal plots suggested by Northrop Frye in Anatomy of Criticism. The novel is shown to be a comic-romance in which the romantic hero is dominant, although there is an ironic hero present. The main theme appears as a search for national identity. The third chapter is a consideration of Each Man's Son, again indicating mythic parallels and relevant structures of imagery. Examination of the plot structure reveals a growing stress on the ironic hero and an unstressing of the romantic hero. The theme appears as a more personal search for identity. The fourth chapter is a consideration of The Watch that Ends the Night, again indicating mythic parallels and relevant imagery. Here, the ironic hero comes to full dominance over the romantic. The theme has become almost entirely a personal search for internal identity. It is shown how, in this novel, MacLennan resolves the conflict explored in the other two novels by submerging it in a larger (basically mystical) pattern. The fifth chapter shows how MacLennan’s techniques and themes have developed, how his final religio-philosophic resolution is related to classical humanism (particularly the philosophy of Heraclitus), and how his use of myth is relevant and valuable to the modern world. It becomes clear that the farther MacLennan moves from a direct representation of the classical myth, the closer he moves to creating a meaningful myth of his own. MacLennan is related to other modern writers and is shown to be in a main stream of modern thought, following a major theme in western literature that has been particularly important since the Victorian Period. He comes to a synthesis of classical and Christian thought which results in an affirmative philosophy. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bochum, 2003/2004.

Very little of the huge corpus of Beowulf criticism has been directed at discovering the function and meaning of myth in the poem. Scholars have noted many mythological elements, but there has never been a satisfactory explanation of the poet's use of this material. A close analysis of Beowulf reveals that myth does, in fact, inform its structure, plot, characters and even imagery. More significant than the poet's use of myth, however, is the way he interlaces the historical and Christian elements with the mythological story to reflect his understanding of the cyclic nature of human existence. The examination in Chapter II of the religious component in eighth-century Anglo-Saxon culture demonstrates that the traditional Germanic religion or mythology was still very much alive. Thus the Beowulf poet was certainly aware of pre-Christian beliefs. Furthermore, he seems to have perceived basic similarities between the old and new religions, and this understanding is reflected in the poem. Chapter III discusses the way in which the characterization of the monsters is enriched by their mythological connotations. Chapter IV demonstrates that the poet also imbued the hero Beowulf with mythological significance. The discussion in Chapter V of themes and type-scenes reveals the origins of these formulaic elements in Indo-European myth, particularly in the myth of the dying god. Chapter VI argues that both historical and mythological layers of meaning reflect traditional man's view of history as cyclic, a temporal period with a beginning and an end. At the juncture between end and beginning is conflict, which is necessary for regeneration. The interlacing of Christian, historical and mythic elements suggests the impossibility of extricating the individual and collective historical manifestations from the cosmic imperative of this cycle. The Beowulf poet perhaps saw in the ancient myths which permeated his cultural traditions the basis of meaning of human existence.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.