Keywords Christa Wolf, myth, mythology, myth revision, Cassandra, Medea, social functions of literature Abstract The subject of this thesis is the incorporation of ancient mythology in the story Cassandra and in the novel Medea: A Modern Retelling by Christa Wolf with the backdrop of the author's own understanding of the function of literature. The first part of the work contains a theoretical introduction to the topic of myths and mythology and presents the most important theories about myths and their incorporation in literature. The subsequent part of the work focuses on the understanding of a myth and its function as used by Christa Wolf. The core of this work is an analysis of the literary incorporation of mythological substance in the writings specified above and a comparison with the incorporation of such substance in the works of ancient authors Aeschylus and Euripides, with the aim of showing through what means and what intentions the author has updated and revised the myth. This part of the work also includes an analysis of the poetological concept of Christa Wolf and the related social functions of literature and the author's role.

This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of the movie Easy Rider. It explores how auteurs Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern's use of road, regional, and cowboy mythology creates a text that simultaneously exposes and is dominated by the ironies inherent in American culture and breathes new life into the cowboy myth, reaffirming the cowboy's place as one of America's most enduring cultural icons.

Le but de notre étude était d'identifier des structures « analogues au mythe » dans des textes en prose du préromantisme allemand. La théorie sur laquelle nous nous appuyons est la théorie du « mythe formel » selon Clemens Lugowski. Notre hypothèse était qu'il y avait très souvent, dans les romans et contes du préromantisme allemand, des structures et qualités « mythiques » (au sens de mythe formel) qui sont liées de façon équivoque à des structures narratives modernes. Ces structures mythiques et prémodernes se manifestent particulièrement dans la motivation de l'action et dans l‘accumulation des motifs fatidiques et généalogiques. Notre étude a été réalisée en trois étapes. Dans un premier temps, nous avons analysé, discuté et adapté les théories de la motivation narrative et du mythe formel. Puis, nous avons élargi le sujet d’un point de vue de l’histoire culturelle, en expliquant le rôle du mythe, de la mythologie et du concept romantique de la « nouvelle mythologie » ainsi que l’idée de généalogie à la fin du 18ème siècle en Allemagne. Nous avons conclu la partie historico-culturelle par un chapitre sur la situation des éditions, des auteurs et de la littérature populaire vers 1800. Ensuite, nous avons concentré les analyses des textes sur des structures mythiques qui apparaissaient dans les motifs, dans la forme et dans les péritextes des contes et romans du préromantisme allemand. Notre corpus de textes se composa de romans et contes de Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Clemens Brentano, Dorothea Veit et Novalis. / The aim of our study was to identify "myth-like" structures in prose texts of German early Romanticism. The theory on which we rely is the theory of the "formal myth" according to Clemens Lugowski. Our hypothesis was that in the novels and tales of German early Romanticism there were very often "mythical" structures and qualities (in the sense of a formal myth) that are linked equivocally to modern narrative structures. These mythical and premodern structures are particularly evident in the motivation of action and in the accumulation of fateful and genealogical motives. Our study was carried out in three steps. In a first step, we analyzed, discussed and adapted the theories of narrative motivation and formal myth. Then we broadened the subject from a historico-cultural perspective, explaining the contemporary role of myth, mythology and the romantic concept of the "new mythology" as well as the idea of genealogy at the end of the 18th century in Germany. We concluded the historico-cultural part with a chapter about the situation of editions, authors and popular literature around 1800. We then concentrated the analyzes of the texts on mythical structures that appeared in the motifs, in the form and in the peritexts of the tales and novels of German early Romanticism. Our corpus of texts consisted of tales and novels by Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Clemens Brentano, Dorothea Veit and Novalis.

This study examines the literary texts of the Ligurian writer Giuseppe Conte published between 1972 and 2005. In Part One, the reasons are considered which justify this research on Giuseppe Conte. This author is discussed in the context of the literary movements of the second half of the 20th century in Italy, with special reference to his approach to literature, which proposes a modern rewriting of myth. Conte is in fact a co-founder of "Mitomodernismo". "Mitomodernismo" is a literary movement, established in 1994 and currently still active, which aims to revive modern society through a spiritual rebirth promoted by a recovery of basic human values, as these appear within the boundaries already suggested by myth since antiquity. The Mitomodernisti propose an alternative which could assist contemporaries to overcome the obstacles created by modern "maladies", particularly in the West, whether these be socio-cultural, ecological, or religious. Throughout Conte's entire æuvre one clearly perceives this strong desire for rebirth which for the author is concretised in "Fare Anima", that is, a way to reconnecting with the universe, of rising towards the "light". This tension towards rebirth could be compared metaphorically to the quest for the Graal, which involves suffering as a way to redemption. The artist's visionary work is comparable to the extrasensory journey undertaken by the shaman during his trance. For this reason, in Part One of this study the figure of the shaman will also be examined in a socio-cultural context, in order to transfer it better to the literary context. The whole of Part Two is dedicated to an analysis of Conte's æuvre - poetry, novels and also, but only indirectly, essays and articles - in the light of his fundamental themes, which metaphorically turn the writer into a "shaman". The analysis is based on some concepts put forward by the Swiss psycho-analyst Carl Gustav Jung, such as the function and symbolism of myth in literature from a psychoanalytical perspective. RIASSUNTO In questo studio vengono prese in esame le opere dello scrittore ligure Giuseppe Conte, pubblicate dal 1972 al 2005. Nella Parte Prima vengono considerate le ragioni che giustificano questa ricerca su Giuseppe Conte. L'autore viene discusso nel contesto dei movimenti letterari del secondo Novecento in Italia, ed in particolare il suo approccio alla letteratura che propone una riscrittura del mito in chiave moderna. Lo scrittore è infatti uno dei cofondatori del "Mitomodernismo". Il "Mitomodernismo" è un movimento letterario che vide la luce nel 1994 e che è ancora attivo alla data attuale. Esso si prefigge di risanare la società moderna mediante una rinascita spirituale promossa dalla ripresa dei valori umani di base, simili a quelli suggeriti dal mito fin dai tempi antichi. A tutto ciò i Mitomodernisti propongono un'alternativa che aiuti l'uomo contemporaneo a superare gli impedimenti creati da queste "malattie" moderne, particolarmente nell'ambito occidentale, siano queste socioculturali, ecologiche, religiose, o altre. Attraverso tutta l'opera di Conte si percepisce chiaramente questo desiderio di rinascita che per lo scrittore si concretizza nel "Fare Anima", vale a dire in un modo di ricollegarsi al cosmo, di innalzarsi verso la "luce". Questa tensione verso la rinascita può venire metaforicamente comparata alla ricerca del Graal attraverso la sofferenza che redime. L'opera visionaria dell'artista è paragonabile al viaggio extrasensoriale intrapreso dallo sciamano durante la sua trance. Per questo motivo nella Prima Parte di questo studio si esamina la figura dello sciamano anche in ambito socioculturale per poterla poi meglio trasferire in quello letterario. La Parte Seconda è completamente dedicata all'analisi dell'opera contiana - poesie, romanzi e, trasversalmente, i saggi e gli articoli alla luce dei suoi temi portanti, che dello scrittore fanno metaforicamente uno "sciamano". L'analisi viene condotta basandosi su alcuni concetti elaborati dallo psicoanalista svizzero Carl Gustav Jung, quali la funzione ed il simbolismo del mito in letteratura da una prospettiva psicoanalitica. / Classics & Mod Euro Lang / D. Lit. et Phil.

Main focus of my Master's Thesis is to conduct a research of mythological elements and themes that appear within the narrative structure of selected episodes of BBC television series Doctor Who, deriving from the initial hypothesis that such mythological patterns are still recurring and repeating even in the structure of stories produced by modern show-business industries, which renders their content intrinsically more attractive for any audience. We analyse selected episodes from both arks of the Doctor Who's story individually - the old one, which began in the sixties, and the new one, which is considered to be a reboot of the original series and aired in 2005. The originally intended educative element of the series and its sudden disappearance is also a part of our research. Main analysis of our paper consists of a semiotic analysis of the text of the television series utilizing the point of view of the critical reader that was introduced by Umberto Eco, and deriving from the definition of modern myth that appears in works of Roland Barthes, archaic myth, studied for example by Carl Lévi- Strauss, and Jungian archetypes.

<p>The present study has a twofold purpose: Firstly, it is an analysis of the Karbalā´ Drama—i.e. the death of Ḥusayn b. `Alī in the hands of an army which had been sent out by the Umayyad authorities, at Karbalā´ in 60/680—as it is retold by the Muslim jurist and historiographer Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923). Despite its importance, especially to Shī`ite Islam, this text as such has received relatively little attention among scholars of Islam. In this study, the Karbalā´ Drama is regarded as a myth and the method used to analyze it is inspired by the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Lévi-Straussian structuralism has probably never before been applied to early Arabic material to the extent that it is used here. The second purpose of the study, then, is to investigate to what extent and in what mode such a method is applicable to this material.</p><p>A portion of the text, called the “Text of Reference,” has been selected and thoroughly analyzed. In that analysis, a number of structural features such as codes, oppositions, mediations, and transformations have been identified and made the basis for a more cursory study of the rest of the story. An important structural feature that is detected in this way is the way the argument of the story is forwarded. By the transformation of metaphors into metonyms, the story attempts to make arbitrary relationships look natural and intrinsic. Such a relationship is that between water and blood—two liquids which are at times shed, at times withheld in the story. Husayn takes a mediating position in that he <i>gives</i> his water and his blood. He acts as mediator both in a negative sense (he establishes the basic Islamic opposition of good and evil), and in a positive sense (as religious guide he acts as a bridge between them).</p>

The present study has a twofold purpose: Firstly, it is an analysis of the Karbalā´ Drama—i.e. the death of Ḥusayn b. `Alī in the hands of an army which had been sent out by the Umayyad authorities, at Karbalā´ in 60/680—as it is retold by the Muslim jurist and historiographer Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923). Despite its importance, especially to Shī`ite Islam, this text as such has received relatively little attention among scholars of Islam. In this study, the Karbalā´ Drama is regarded as a myth and the method used to analyze it is inspired by the structuralism of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Lévi-Straussian structuralism has probably never before been applied to early Arabic material to the extent that it is used here. The second purpose of the study, then, is to investigate to what extent and in what mode such a method is applicable to this material. A portion of the text, called the “Text of Reference,” has been selected and thoroughly analyzed. In that analysis, a number of structural features such as codes, oppositions, mediations, and transformations have been identified and made the basis for a more cursory study of the rest of the story. An important structural feature that is detected in this way is the way the argument of the story is forwarded. By the transformation of metaphors into metonyms, the story attempts to make arbitrary relationships look natural and intrinsic. Such a relationship is that between water and blood—two liquids which are at times shed, at times withheld in the story. Husayn takes a mediating position in that he gives his water and his blood. He acts as mediator both in a negative sense (he establishes the basic Islamic opposition of good and evil), and in a positive sense (as religious guide he acts as a bridge between them).

The thesis attempts at providing a critical evaluation of the city as the mythological site of modernity. For that purpose, highlighting such special nature of the urban context as it finds expression by the cinematic medium, what is aimed at is the analysis of, first, the mythical dimensions of modern urban life as the prime site of enthusiasm and spirit with its fleeting impressions and changing images, secondly, the (re)creation of the city myth through cinema as an elaborate perceptive vehicle for a specific way of picturing and enframing the cityscape and, lastly the representation of the destruction of such myth. In this way, it will also be possible to point out concretely that the city experience of the modern individual simultaneously embodies fascination and horror, hope and despair. In order to explain the situation of the modern individual in the big city, Odysseus&rsquo / s encounter with mythological forces in ancient world are taken as a parable in the footsteps of Adorno and Horkheimer&rsquo / s allegoric interpretation of Homer&rsquo / s Odyssey. Specifically speaking, the cinematic representation of Istanbul-myth and the destruction of this myth in Turkish cinema of the nineties will be examined through three prominent examples in the light of the above theoretical considerations.

This study examines the literary texts of the Ligurian writer Giuseppe Conte published between 1972 and 2005. In Part One, the reasons are considered which justify this research on Giuseppe Conte. This author is discussed in the context of the literary movements of the second half of the 20th century in Italy, with special reference to his approach to literature, which proposes a modern rewriting of myth. Conte is in fact a co-founder of "Mitomodernismo". "Mitomodernismo" is a literary movement, established in 1994 and currently still active, which aims to revive modern society through a spiritual rebirth promoted by a recovery of basic human values, as these appear within the boundaries already suggested by myth since antiquity. The Mitomodernisti propose an alternative which could assist contemporaries to overcome the obstacles created by modern "maladies", particularly in the West, whether these be socio-cultural, ecological, or religious. Throughout Conte's entire æuvre one clearly perceives this strong desire for rebirth which for the author is concretised in "Fare Anima", that is, a way to reconnecting with the universe, of rising towards the "light". This tension towards rebirth could be compared metaphorically to the quest for the Graal, which involves suffering as a way to redemption. The artist's visionary work is comparable to the extrasensory journey undertaken by the shaman during his trance. For this reason, in Part One of this study the figure of the shaman will also be examined in a socio-cultural context, in order to transfer it better to the literary context. The whole of Part Two is dedicated to an analysis of Conte's æuvre - poetry, novels and also, but only indirectly, essays and articles - in the light of his fundamental themes, which metaphorically turn the writer into a "shaman". The analysis is based on some concepts put forward by the Swiss psycho-analyst Carl Gustav Jung, such as the function and symbolism of myth in literature from a psychoanalytical perspective. RIASSUNTO In questo studio vengono prese in esame le opere dello scrittore ligure Giuseppe Conte, pubblicate dal 1972 al 2005. Nella Parte Prima vengono considerate le ragioni che giustificano questa ricerca su Giuseppe Conte. L'autore viene discusso nel contesto dei movimenti letterari del secondo Novecento in Italia, ed in particolare il suo approccio alla letteratura che propone una riscrittura del mito in chiave moderna. Lo scrittore è infatti uno dei cofondatori del "Mitomodernismo". Il "Mitomodernismo" è un movimento letterario che vide la luce nel 1994 e che è ancora attivo alla data attuale. Esso si prefigge di risanare la società moderna mediante una rinascita spirituale promossa dalla ripresa dei valori umani di base, simili a quelli suggeriti dal mito fin dai tempi antichi. A tutto ciò i Mitomodernisti propongono un'alternativa che aiuti l'uomo contemporaneo a superare gli impedimenti creati da queste "malattie" moderne, particolarmente nell'ambito occidentale, siano queste socioculturali, ecologiche, religiose, o altre. Attraverso tutta l'opera di Conte si percepisce chiaramente questo desiderio di rinascita che per lo scrittore si concretizza nel "Fare Anima", vale a dire in un modo di ricollegarsi al cosmo, di innalzarsi verso la "luce". Questa tensione verso la rinascita può venire metaforicamente comparata alla ricerca del Graal attraverso la sofferenza che redime. L'opera visionaria dell'artista è paragonabile al viaggio extrasensoriale intrapreso dallo sciamano durante la sua trance. Per questo motivo nella Prima Parte di questo studio si esamina la figura dello sciamano anche in ambito socioculturale per poterla poi meglio trasferire in quello letterario. La Parte Seconda è completamente dedicata all'analisi dell'opera contiana - poesie, romanzi e, trasversalmente, i saggi e gli articoli alla luce dei suoi temi portanti, che dello scrittore fanno metaforicamente uno "sciamano". L'analisi viene condotta basandosi su alcuni concetti elaborati dallo psicoanalista svizzero Carl Gustav Jung, quali la funzione ed il simbolismo del mito in letteratura da una prospettiva psicoanalitica. / Classics and Mod Euro Lang / D. Lit. et Phil.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:39:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1509084 bytes, checksum: 961bbaa26fa878f52ecb91155bc8dace (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The French dramatists Jean Giradoux and Jean-Paul Sartre revisited the tragic Greek legacy and wrote the plays Électre (1937) and Les mouches (1943), respectively. Both authors, in their texts, drew from myths concerned with the tragic actions that took place in Agamemnon s palace: the murder of Clytemnestra by her children, Orestes and Electra. This research is centered on the analysis and comparison between Giraudoux s and Sartre s plays aiming at identifying in them the elements that indicate both the relations between myth (mythical thought) and logos (theoretical reason) and that between myth and modern tragedy. It also shows the fact that Sartre s text, maintains a dialog with the Greek legacy, and also offers a philosophical counterpoint to Giraudoux s play. In order to reach our goals we have examined the phenomenon of myth under the light of the philosophy of language, of the sacred, of anthropology and of literature, a theoretical basis that we tried to connect with the theories of Aristotle and Hegel about drama. / Os dramaturgos franceses Jean Giraudoux e Jean-Paul Sartre revisitaram o legado trágico grego e escreveram as peças Électre (1937) e Les mouches (1943), respectivamente. Ambos os autores debruçaram-se, em seus textos, sobre os mitos que narram os trágicos acontecimentos ocorridos no palácio de Agamêmnon: o assassinato de Clitemnestra por seus filhos, Orestes e Electra. Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar e cotejar entre si as peças de Giraudoux e Sartre no intuito de nelas levantar os elementos que apontam para as relações tanto entre mito (pensamento mítico) e logos (razão teórica) quanto entre mito e tragédia moderna, e, ainda, evidenciar o fato de que o texto de Sartre, além de dialogar com o legado grego, constrói-se em contraponto filosófico ao drama de Giraudoux. Para alcançar nossos objetivos, partimos de uma reflexão sobre o fenômeno do mito sob as perspectivas da filosofia da linguagem, do sagrado, da antropologia e da literatura, formando um conjunto teórico que buscamos articular às teorias do drama de Aristóteles e Hegel.