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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.

Studies on mythological themes have largely ignored the Spanish Middle Ages, and critical works on literature of this period have neglected the mythological aspect. This is, therefore, not only a vast, but on the whole a new, subject, and my thesis cannot be definitive. I explore some of its possibilities in the hope that this will inspire further study. Having examined various mythologies I conclude that classical mythology is the principal one to receive treatment in medieval Spain. In my introduction I consider the works through which the writers of the Spanish Middle Ages received their knowledge of mythology and the ways in which they adapted it to suit a medieval reader. In chapters II-IV, I study a selection of medieval works, both prose and verse and from different genres. In each work I examine the writer's treatment of the mythology he found in his sources and the ways in which he introduced his own original mythological details and the purpose they serve. In chapter V, I consider the development of the use of two mythological characters through the period and chapter VI draws the thesis to a conclusion. I compare the use of mythology in the early and late Middle Ages and show that the passing of time increases interest in, and knowledge of, mythology. The didactic use that" the early writers made of mythology develops into the aesthetic use made of it by the fifteenth-century writers. A detailed analysis of the use a fifteenth century work makes of a thirteenth-century one proves that works from the earlier century must have had a much greater influence on the later ones than has been generally acknowledged; it also throws into doubt the conception of the fifteenth century as pre-Renaissance.

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This thesis aims to discuss the heroic and the monstrous aspects of Beowulf. In the heroic part, I will discuss Beowulf as a culture hero and a mythological hero; in the monstrous part, I will discuss Beowulf as a monster-man and monsters as man-monsters. Beowulf is about a hero who intends to prove himself by killing malicious monsters. The victory over the villains further brings Beowulf the character to the Geatish throne, though Beowulf¡¦s obsession with glory finally results in the fall of his kingdom. Beowulf¡¦s rise represents the rise of the Geatish kingdom and meritocracy; and his fall also triggers the fall of the kingdom. Beowulf¡¦s journey to the Danish kingdom also resembles Joseph Campbell¡¦s theories of mythological heroes. Beowulf has been regarded as a hero for decades, but however heroic, Beowulf embodies some monstrous tendencies. His rationale to kill repugnant monsters and gain glory in return does not work on the combat with Grendel¡¦s mother and the fire dragon, since the ogress kills Aeschere in order to avenge her only son¡¦s death; and the dragon causes strife because of the theft. The monsters, on the other hand, are somewhat heroic since they know the ethics of vengeance.

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The depiction of violence has always been and will always be a fascinating but horrifying subject. Violence shown on ancient vase paintings has been the subject of multiple authors’ works. This study analyzes the depiction of violence against children in mythological scenes on vases from the ancient world by analyzing and comparing 39 scenes where the subject is rendered and explores the question of what happens if the interpretation of the vase painting lays the focus on the child. This is done by examining how the children die, the iconography of their deaths and the traces of violence left on their bodies, their relationship to the perpetrators, the importance of the perpetrator and the spectators in the scenes, how the iconography relates to the myth as known from literary sources, as well as the chronological and geographical evolution of the motifs. The essay focuses on five mythological children, Troilos, Astyanax, the children of Medea and Opheltes, who all are the object of violence and early death in their respective myths and on vase paintings. The comparison between the vase paintings is divided into the scenes that depicts the children about to be killed and scenes showing the children as already dead. An account of the relationship between the children and the perpetrator as well as the perpetrators motive for killing the child and how their appearance in the scenes compare to each other is presented. The results of the comparisons are used in a discussion also including the ancient attitudes towards children and violence and if the children's deaths could be interpreted as human sacrifice. The study concludes that the interpretation of the role of the children in representations of violence is complex and that there are many aspects that affect the understanding of the vase paintings as a whole. Changing the focus to the child will not change the overall interpretation of the mythological motif, however, the innocence of the child will add more horror and gruesomeness to the overall impression of the vase painting. / <p>Uppsatsens illustrationer har inte tagits med i den digitala versionen.</p>

This essay examines how J.K Rowling´s tendency to draw on intertextuality creates a relegation of female characters in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2014). By examining the link between intertextuality and the creation and portrayal of certain female characters in the most selling book series in history, Harry Potter, it is clarified how the use of intertextuality relegates female characters to retrogressive social constructs of gender. The three characters studied in this essay are Fleur Delacour, Molly Weasley and Petunia Dursley. The approach used is mythological criticism, an approach focused on the search for universality in a multitude of modern and historical texts. The main concepts used in this essay are the archetypal woman, postmodernity, gender performativity, myth, and intertextuality. Judith Butler´s concept of gender performativity is combined with Graham Allen’s definitions of intertextuality and postmodernity to understand how and why female characters in Harry Potter are relegated. Evidence has been collected from published journals, books, and encyclopedias. This essay explains how relegation is caused by shining light upon the link between character creation and the myths that the character builds upon. J.K Rowling has used archetypical female roles, such as the siren, the wicked stepmother or the mother, when creating her characters, thus relegating them to past beliefs of femininity, such as the woman as being exotic and dangerous. By examining both myth and postmodern texts such as Harry Potter one can gain a deeper understanding on how intertextuality can cause a postmodernist text to reflect past notions of femininity that would be viewed as retrogressive in a postmodern and postcolonial society.