A Test

Everyone who read this, post a comment with the date and time. I just want to see how much other people are getting around to the blogs. I'll try and return a comment after you comment here, but there are about seventy of you and one of me, so that might prove slightly difficult.

Language and Invention

The most important part of any form of storytelling is language (without language, stories sound something like this: sdakljfajo;i;aewoho;wefio;h;ihoeawfhljzcuh;uo; yeah, I don't understand it either).

One place where Shakespeare is completely and undeniablly mythic is in his language. One thing Shakespear is known for is the invention of words, wheter 'jaded,' 'assassination,' or 'zany.'

Words have power. That is one of the deepest and oldest pieces of myth, for to know someone's true name is to have power over that person. In the same way, to know that ture name of something (thus to know language itself) is to have power. Storytelling is only done with language, and the power of the language adds to the power of the story. Those who have a great vocabulary, such as Shakespeare, command more power than the groundlings with a measly vocabulary.

If I tell you a story, but I do it in German (or Irish Gaelic, as there are other German speakers in the class), it means less, or often nothing. But if I tell you a story in English and add an occasional foreign word, whether German, Gaelic, or Latin, the story seems to hold with it a greater sofaisticiúlacht. Of course, this might just be a result of the culture we grew up in, applying to value to that of the older world.

Even today we attempt to bring value to things through the expansion of language, and the myth of something grows the more non-English it brings to itself.

Words only mean the meaning that we give them, and stories have no meaning if their words mean nothing. The word anwa holds no power until I tell you it means "True," and hence forth it means something. It is the Logos that draws our interest, the True Word.


With nothing to do with words and Just for laughs.

Movies

Being a former film major, I feel I should comment on some of the movies on the list Dr. Sexson sent out, looking a little at myth and a little at entertainment. With some I will provide the most basic mythic idea in the film that I find, which will work as little more than starting points. I note when the movies are not in English and which language they are in. I would recomment on those movies that you watch them with subtitles, rather than dubbed, for a lot is lost in dubbing.

2001 This movie was considered one of the greats of its day, but many of its qualities have been overshadowed by never films. As a movie, it is rather slow and many would find it boring, but if you are willing to but in the time (it's three hours long) and the energy, it can provide some interest. Myth: beginnings.
After Hours Standar Scorsese fair. Myth: quest.
Andre Rublev Subtitled - Russian.
Beauty and the Beast Not the animated Disney version, this is one of the classics of Fantasy Cinema. Subtitled - French.
Blade Runner An excellent science fiction movie. As a personnal reconmendation, I would suggest you try and not see the directors cut, but the original is very difficult to get a hold of. It is based on the Phillip K. Dick short story "Do Androids Dream of Robot Sheep?"
Blow Up As part of Italian Neo-realism, Blow-up is a rather unique film and arguably difficult to grasp. Myth: appearance/mystery. Subtitled - Italian.
Blue Angel, The I am not sure if this is referring to the 1930 German film or the 1959 American film. They are the same story, but as anyone who has scene the animated Lord of the Rings can tell you, the same story does not mean much.
Children of Paradise Subtitled - French
Chinatown One of the last great dark films of the seventies (shortly after Jaws and Star Wars made cinema light and fluffy).
Citizen Kane Often considered one of the best movies of all time. Fairly long, but does not suffer from slow plot as some other films do. Myth: man.
Coffee and Cigarettes A Jim Jarmusch filme, it is, like most JJ films, a little odd. It is more a collection of stories than a single story. Myth: well, myth, I suppose.
Days of Heaven *shrugs*
Dead Man Once again, more Jim Jarmusch, but this time with Johnny Depp action. A western, it follows a man named William Blake into the west. It could be considered a 'modern' western. Myth: man.
Double Indemnity One of the top three Noir films of all time. This film is still highly enjoyable as a film, even to most modern audiences. Myth: evil.
High Noon This film is considered one of the most iconic westerns of all time. There are a few scenes here that everyone has seen, as they have been spoofed beyond all counting. A wonderful film to watch, even if not for class. Myth: man/quest.
La Strada Another Italian Neo-Realist film. Subtitled - Italian
Little Big Man One could to look at this film as a metamyth, a myth told as a story, or one could simply view it as a story. Myth: story
Magnificent Seven, The A remake of the Japanese film The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurusawa. I would recommend all people to see the original, though they mythic position is different in the latter due to its shift to America. It is a long film, but rarely slow. Myth: fellowship.
Mulholland Drive A David Lynch film, and thus it has a certain strange quality to it.
Natural, The We've talked enough about this one in class.
Night of the Hunter A rather deadly film.
Piano, The A happier film.
Planet of the Apes I am assuming that this means the original, 1968 original, not the recent remake, as the first is arguably the better. Much of the effects are dated, but the story is still strong. Myth: new worlds.
Satyricon Very much an inherently mythic film. Set in first century Rome, it draws the viewer into what is considered the mythic past. Subtitled - Italian.
Searchers, The Another western (which is, arguably, the mythic cycle of America). This is also one of the better westerns out there.
Seven Beauties Subtitled - Italian
Seventh Seal A very complex film, it deals primarily with God. Myth: end times. Subtitled - Sweedish
Smooth Talk Myth: man
Solaris I am making the assumtion that this is the 1972 Russian version. A sci-fi film, it is more along the lines of Blade Runner than Star Wars. Subtitled - Russian
Spirited Away I have a soft spot in my heart for Spirited Away and any film Hayao Miyazaki worked on. It is an animate film from Japan, but is not what most people would consider 'anime.' The mythic imagery in this film earned only two stars, but I suggest anyone who watches this to study the Japanese mythology, for you will find much more than you expected (and probably enough to fill many posts). Click here for more on his films, all very mythic. Myth: quest/initiation. Subtitled - Japanese
Sweet Hereafter, The *shrugs*
Terminator, The I'm pretty sure everyone knows about this film and most people enjoy it (at least to the degree they enjoy destruction). Myth: evil
Third Man, The And Orson Welles film, set during the Cold War and the spy battles of that age. It is a little slow compared to modern thrillers, but it stil backs a bunch.
Treasure of Sierra Madre Another western, though darker than most of the others on this list. Myth: fellowship/treasure
Ulysses' Gaze A mythic quest for the very things that movies are made of. Subtitled - Greek
Vertigo One of the lesser known films by Alfred Hitchcock. A powerful thriller, though it might be a bit much for someone afraid of heights.
Wild Strawberries Another Ingmar Bergman film, this one also deals with the issues of emptiness. Subtitled - Sweedish
Wings of Desire I personally think that this name sounds like a film of ill repute, but what do I know? The original German title, Der Himmel Uber Berlin, literally means The Heaven Over Berlin. This is quite a good film, and is the original for City of Angels. Subtitled - German
Wizard of Oz, The I am not a big fan of this movie, but I am sure most of you will not be swayed by my opinion. One of the simplest movies on this list, it does offer a couple surpries (and no, I don't mean when played with Pink Floyd) after repeat viewings. Myth: quest.
Wuthering Heights I am assuming this is the 1939 version, but there are many others out there. Based on the novel by Emily Brontë.

The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Seal is an interesting film for many reasons, not the least of which because it is completely insane. Those who know anything about the film know one thing, that a knight, returning from the crusades, plays chess with Death. And maybe that is all we need to know.

A central theme throughout the film is the issue of the end of the world. Doomsday and the book of the Revelation of St. John the Divine keep cropping up, providing a constant reference to the end. The title itself comes out of the first verse of the eighth chapter of the book of Revelation, "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."

It is interesting to note that this film is largely beyond man's ability to discuss. When people speak of it today, they generally talk more about Ingmar Bergman than about this film which made him famous.

This seems really to be the only good way to talk about the film and still retain any amount of peace, for the movie is almost purely a story of despair and emptiness. God is dead, and death is all there is.

This leads me to one last issue (though I shall return to this film in later posts). It seems that at any point when someone wishes to argue against the supernatural (usually God) the only way they are able to do it effectively, within fiction, is through the supernatural. Bergman attempts to say all things are empty after death, but to do so he uses a personified Death. If Death is a person, he must have come from somewhere.

Hypertext

Dr. Sexson constantly stresses the issue of hypertext when talking about the e-journals. The ability to smoothly slide from one idea to a related idea is what makes the inernet such a powerful technology (and also, interestingly enough, is what makes it much like the oral traditions of the past, but that is something for another journal).

If I so chose, I could create links throughout this entry, sending you everywhich way. The above links, however, have nothing to do with anything, and were more random than anything else.

Some sites, however, are founded deeply in the hypertext reality, and none more so than Wikipedia. If you click the previous hypertext, you will be linked to a site with over a hundred and fifty links to other myth related sites. I could spend hours and not provide so rich a resource.

(For you Shakespeare people tired of reading about myth, click here, while those who are willing to accept myth as a vaiable part of Shakespear {and vice-versa}, click here.)

And how does this relate to mythology? Well, beyond the oral tradition -- mythology connection, we can look at the mythology as a collection of linked stories, a unified mythos. We talk about Zeus and we 'hypertext' to Leda and then 'hypertext' to Helen, then to Troy, then to Odysseus, then to Ποσειδῶν, then back to Zeus.

I am personnaly a big fan of Greek.

ὲν τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντες ὅτι ήν είσί

Extra bonus points for anyone who bothers to translate, though be warned, it is in Koine Greek, so most modern dictionaries won't help you any. Even here, the most abusrd and odd things can come forth as a quest. It may not be great, but the one who succeeds will have a certain distinction over all others who choose to be nothing but ordinary.

And yes, the quote is related to myth and this post.

Diachronic and Synchronic

Myth can be obeserved in two forms, the Diachronic and the Synchronic, and each provides a different, and informative, look at storytelling.

Diachronic mythic examination is a study of myth over time, specifically looking at the issue of Change in Myth. The easiest place to study myth diacrhonically is between Greece and Rome, the great myth giver and myth taker (steal is such a harsh word). When one examines the two mythos a majority of it appears the same, the primary differences being the names (Zeus to Jupiter, Aphrodite to Venus, Heracles to Hercules, etc).

A closer examination, however, reveals important differences. The myth of Romulus and Remus, for example, is critical in the Roman mythic cycle but non existant in the Greek. Likewise, Olympus is absent from the Roman myth.

When one examins myth synchronically, one looks at a single period of time. This is where a majority of study is actuall done, looking at the myth itself rather than it's change over time.

The diachronic study of myth is a place where, if we take a second look, a thousand new things may come to us. Many of the world's myths are drawn from others, and the changes can provide us with a deep insight into the cultures that gathered to those myths. Why Odei as apposed to Thor as opposed to Zeus? Which came first the Draco or the Dewi?

Looking into the change of our stories and not just their origins is like looking into another past, one we have forgotten, the past of time.

"From time, through time, to time immemorial
the world remained as it had for eternity."

Then . . .

"But time moved, and the world followed after."

The Participation in Myth

We all wish to partake in myth, or at least bring a myth to our present day. We may not be directly involved in it, but it still exists if we wish to approach it. Myth prevades our very existence.

For example, a found an interesting way in which someone not only brought the Lord of the Rings up the present, but united it with another myth, that of the X-Files (Middle-Earth is a perfectly valid subject of myth, for it is not age that makes something a myth, but rather its universitality. Middle-Earth as we know it is only about fifty years old, yet it is an myth, and a powerful one.)

If you go here you will find evidence indicating Fox Mulder is a decendent of Aragonr, son of Arathorn, of the Lineage of Luthien. The mythic past is brought into the mythic present.

And speaking on the participation of myth, in the Capstone class we were discussing peoples desire to enter into their mythic worlds, whether by making themself a vampire or leaning on the barrier between platform 9 and 10 at King's Cross Station. Man desires to enter into myth.

We then discussed peoples desire to go to Middle-Earth (for some reason I am always the my Professor's example on this), but I have to say that is simply not possible, due to the fact that Middle-Earth is not a place one can presently go to. Not because it isn't real, but rather because it's reality is our reality. We still live in Middle-Earth, the world has changed, the elves have passed beyond the western sea, and it is now the age of men (we can argue whether it is still the fourth or, as I hold, we have entered into the fifth age, later).

Myth surrounds us, and those who realize it eagerly desire to be part of the myth, even today. At the sounding of the horn we will rise up to answer the call, to war and to honor, riding forth to the mythic end of all things.

The Past may be dead, but Myth lives on in the heart of men.

In Responso

After reading Allison's post for January 22nd, I had this thought.

I think it may be that imagination, creativity, and inspiration are simply memories. When we create, when we imagine, we are simply stringing together former memories in new manners, uniting ideas that were previously independent.

When I write a story, I am not inventing an entire world, even when I am writing Fantasy. I rather take pieces of a world I know, people I know, things I know, and combine them in a way nobody has seen before. This new creation, a re-imagining of myth, if you will, is not completely new, but rather completely fresh.

Everything is Hunky-Dory

The one thing I have learned over the years is never to trust what I have learned (Catch-22, anyone?).

So much of what we think we know is Myth, and so much of what we are taught turns out to be only one side of the story.

Take Hunky-dory.

It is a relatively younf phrase, first appearing just after the Civil War (1866). Despite its youth, no one really knows where it came from. The most common theory is that it was the name of a major street in Yokohama, Japan, but what is common is not always true.

The most supportable theory is that it comes from Honk the Dutch for 'goal' (as in tag) or 'safe,' and Dory was simply added from another source (possibly also Dutch).

Now you must be asking yourself what the heck this has to do with Myth. Do not worry, friends, I will tie it all togther (unless your here from Shakespeare, and in that case no dice). Languag is Mythic, as it grows and is formed from the thoughts of man. No one sets out to create a language (at least, no one did before Tolkien), just as no one sets out to create a myth (once again, before Tolkien). Keep your eyes open. Myth and language will come together constantly, not just in the power of language in myth (or myth in language, as revealed by such words as echo), but in the very traits they hold in common.

When you speak, you take part in the mythic world, for word is as myth, fleeting in existence, but eternal in memory.

Myth and Legend

To tie together two discussions of today, I would like to direct the class' attention to the following webpage:

SNOPES

It offers proof that Ring Around the Rosy did not in fact come from the bubonic plague, but in fact is first seen around the year 1880.

Today, an Urban Legend is as a myth was a thousand years ago, a story of unknown origin and veracity, yet persists in popularity. We witnessed this in class with this legend.

The Recreation of Myth

So often people consider myth to be something locked into time, unchangable. Sometime in the past (generally outside of living memory) a myth was born, and it has been passed on to today. Myth flows along the lines of time and is restrained by it.

In reality, though, myth is not static, but living. We retell myths, and with every retelling something changes. At some point, after enough changes, the myth is a new myth.

In fact, in class on Wednesday, we invented a new myth. Most of you probably missed it, but as we were discussing Leda and the Swan a new myth was born. No longer does Helen of Troy come from the egg, but Angelina Jolie.

Shakespeare too is known for the reinvention of the myth (which is really any story). He was not the first to write King Lear, Hamlet, or Troilus and Cressida, but he made a new myth in the telling of them. Many of the greatest tales that can be told have been told, so now they must simply be retold in a way that matters.

That is modern myth, the recreation of the old. Fantastic Medievalism (the use of a fictional middle ages as a setting in a story) exemplifies this trait, taking not an old story, but an old time and taking it forth unto to today.

If we limit ourselves to only the myth that is static, we have not only killed myth, but destroyed imagination.

Grey Eyed Athena

As we were discussing the issue of Helen of Troy that made me think back to Oral Traditions and the idea that all people are given titles or monikers.

The name is such a central part of Myth. We are not just Bob, George, Fred, or Bill, but that is all we are called. In myth, however, our names have meaning. There is Wise Athena. Helen of Troy. Mighty Heracles. Odin the One Eyed, the Grey Wanderer.

Names once told us something about those who hold them. Today, names mean little more (unless one is readying fiction, particularly fantasy) then something the parent chose to call their kids. No longer do we have Elrond Halfelven unless we give that name to ourselves.

Even Shakespeare is not immune. We speak of the Bard when we love Shakespeare, for to give him a unique title is to give him reverence. If there were three Queens of Enland, a half dozen Presidents of the United States, or ten Popes, their title would no longer hold such great importance. By calling him the Bard, we give to Shakespeare reverance.

And now, for Shakespeare

To be perfectly honost, the Bard has never particularly interested me. *Pause for gasps of horror*
I mean it Aspen.

I hold nothing against his work, but it has never intriguid me the way it has captured the hearts of others. He is simply another author (another dead one at that) who we have to read. Maychance I have not been exposed to an accurate and decent presentation of him, with a professor willing to spend the time and energy on him.

Nothing particularl against him (a consider King Lear to be one of the greatest poems ever written -- maybe that's my problem), but I personnaly do not hold him in the esteem others do.

Now it is your turn to prove me wrong. This class will be my last great exposure to Shakespeare, and as such it is your job (as students) to provide me with a reason to keep actively studying the Bard (who, ironically, was not a Bard).

This is your quest, and the very fate of the world may rest upon it, for my future my change from what you bring, and, as Dr. Sexson said, we all will do great things. The challange is given, and now may you meet it.

Myth and Language

As I noted earlier, I am a philologist. For those of you who are unaware of that term, it can loosely be defined as a language geek. As such, I study languages just for the heck of it.

One thing to be noted about language is that much of culture is defined by them. We know what we know because our language allows us to know it. It is interesting to note that essentially all cultures of two creation stories: one, of the man, the other, of man's language.

Just as myth offers a glimpse into man, language provides a different angle. If someone tells me his favorit myth (assuming he knows many) I can tell you something about that person. Likewise, is someone tells me their favorit language (Tolkien's was Finnish, though he could not speak it), I can tell you something different about them.

(Shakespeare people, I'll get around to talking about the Bard eventually).


Tanyt Mariaimb, œndamb al inditarumbik, umbik Baelinœrl yshndilik.
Irumba anagarmenimbwal omba ndi ysha olientik
Anagarmynimbwal umbik ba hetelmaond nda yshaolianteitsh, Ieshuaond.
Andakish Mariaiamb, iliandi Veambariitsh,
Arʤaipriŋgtambir atmbi [at]arishilik,
Irumba œl kaniɱvaik mbapɸambiitsh.
Veambily.

National Epic

I would like to inform all my readers that this journal will be going all over the board. Since it encompasses two classes, it is likley that some of what you read will not be applicable to you.

It is also likely that myth will take up more space here because, at heart, I am a philologist, and philology is really little more than myth under the guise of science.

For another class I am writing a paper on National Epics, in particular the Kalevala.

National epics are, as a general rule, mythic stories which serve as the foundation of a people. While all cultures have some sort of myths, only a very few have come together to generate national epics. These cultures have a strength and lasting power, though different than many others.

National epics are going to form a running theme throughout this journal, so expect them to reappear. For now, I am going to list all the epics I can think of and their country/people group.

Iliad and Oddesy: Ancient Greece
Ramayana: Hindi (India)
Kalevala: Finland (relatively recent addition)
Song of Roland: Franks (now France)
Sigfried Saga: Germany
The Eddas: Norse (Iceland)
Beowulf: England (only sort of, not always considered an national epic; it may in fact be King Arthur)
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Babylon
The Torah: Israel
The Lord of the Rings: England (Tolkien rote the LotR to serve as a national epic for England. Only time will tell how well it worked)

If anyone can think of something not on this list, feel free to comment and I'll add it.

The Mythic Journey

For those of you wondering where my illustiuous presence was Friday (I'm not sure if I have yet developed an illustiorus presence, but I'm working on it) I took a journey. A quest, if you will.

I removed myself from my comfortable surroundings and traveled for a long distance and through many harrowing experiences (if you have never rode a bus through the pass to Livingstone on a windy day, don't. You're better off for it).

The final summation of my quest was not the destruction of a ring, salvation of man, or even rescuing supid people from their own mistakes, but rather knowledge, something I am sure is a critically important part of any quest, or even the critically important part.

The World of the Imagination

Shakespeare was a man so strongly grounded in this world that he could not help but right about myth. It prevaded his works, whether simply from the idea of the Gods to the very presence of faeries on this earth.

To truly be real is to be mythic.