God. Creator or Poet?
The Latin word “poet” means “creator”. Humans, realizing they are different from animals in the world, have been trying to rationalize things and themselves to the world ever since. Poets and writers used to come up with these far off imaginative ways of how to answer questions of life almost to explain it in a philosophical way. Who were the first humans? How did they come to be? What made the sun and the moon and the stars? Why the animals were made the way they were? What caused night and day, the seasons, the cycle of life itself? Why were some people greedy and some unselfish, some ugly and some handsome, some dull and some clever? As people pondered these questions and many more, they created stories that helped explain the world to their primitive minds. Storytellers told these tales again and again around the fires of the early tribes, by the hearth of humble cottages, before the great fire in the king's hall; they told them as they sat in the grass huts of the jungle, the Hogans of the Navajo, and the igloos of the Eskimo. Their children told them, and their children's children, until the stories were smooth and polished. And so people created their myths and their folktales, their legends and epics; the literature of the fireside, the poetry of the people, and the memory of humankind.
They spoke what made them understand the unknown. However scholars choose to look at them, folktales and myths are literature derived from human imagination to explain the human condition. Literature today continues to express our concern about human strengths, weaknesses, and the individual's relationships to the world and to other people. This thought came up by Euhemerus in 300 B.C. He began the theory that once one war hero became respected and dies, people pass on their name while embellishing their heroic story. Soon, people forgot the fact that this hero was even human. Now, the hero was a God; an immortal God. The vast body of traditional literature was shaped verbally by generation after generation, simply because oral language was then the only language. (Even today, writing is far from universal. Of 2796 languages in the world, all have an oral form, but only about 153 have a written form.
What would you do for entertainment in a time before television? The Ancient Greeks solved this dilemma with Bards. Humans have always enjoyed great stories and storytellers; the ancient Greeks were no different. However, oral tradition can encompass and convey much more than stories. It can reveal an identity, motivation or persuade an audience. For the Ancient Greeks, stories take on the additional role as the sharing and spreading of information. So, while it is enjoyable to hear tales of adventure, oral tradition has practical uses too.
The earliest myths are found to exist during the archaic period. The Greek word “Mythos” describes words or speech and can also mean a tale or legend. Myths have continually been to be passed down for traditional purposes. Elders would tell these magnificent stories to inspire and teach young children about gods and heroes. Mythology was important
A review of the contemporary research on the negative effects of pornography is replete of scholarly and anecdotal evidence and opinion about the damages associated with viewing it. But the evidence is limited when it comes to criticism of mainstream media’s damages to certain groups, particularly young women with their romantic comedies.
A hero in literature, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is the main character of a literary work that is celebrated through ancient legends of a society. Most heroes, especially of ancient lore, have extreme and unlimited strength, skill in battle, and courage, while partaking in war or dangerous adventures regularly. They are always studied in literature, which makes them timeless, because they can help us learn different messages about our actions even in today’s world. In comparison it is concluded that even though Achilles and Sir Gawain were created at different time periods they still have similarities and both show us today how society was in the past. These heroes represent more than just a work of literature, but the value systems of entire societies, which is invaluable knowledge for
Stories like Bhagavad-Gita, Gilgamesh, Beowulf and so many more literary works that have survived over the many years since it was created. That are still read and are common to this day. Much like their spirits are in the books we read, watching us look at their work and seeing how we of this time view their stories and find meaning to them. As Henry James onced said is the literary form as: “... singly or together, as nothing without the posted prescence of the watcher--- without, in other words, the consciousness of the
Clark (2016) suggests that rhetoric isn’t limited to oral communication, but currently has a permanent foothold in written works: magazine or newspaper excerpts, novels, and scientific reports. Not only written
Myths, folktales, legends, they have been poured upon us from a seemingly inexhaustible horn of plenty since the days of the ancient.
Today, pornography has different targeted audiences based on various categories of pornography. There are pornographies made that are targeted toward women in which are slow and focused more on the people’s language rather than solely genitally focused. Most pornographies, however, are made specifically for men. These videos contain a large focus on the genitals, the men are portrayed as dominant, and the women please the men taking any measures necessary. According to a study, pornography that was intended for men and women aroused the men who were being studied. Women on the other hand, activated negative affects after watching the pornography intended for men and positive after watching the pornography intended for women (Mosher, 1994). In general, men are the main target of pornographies and women as well as feminists believe that pornography should not characterize women as objects. Also when making this study, it was difficult to find pornography that was made by women, majority of the videos are made by men and produced for
Thury, Eva and Margaret K. Devinney. “Theory: Man and His Symbols.” Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 519-537. Print.
In the midst of all of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays, “Circles,” is undoubtedly a piece which masterfully incorporates Emerson’s philosophies of etymology with the spiritual. Etymology, down to its core, deals with the origin of certain phrases, words, or examples used to describe an object of meaning. Emerson uses this technique to craft a spiritual essay that pushes the reader to see the universe from a different perspective, and to tear away from the social norms of what is expected of religion to follow his or her own path. To do this, however, Emerson stresses the importance of understanding and reason. To understand is to classify, differentiate, and compare. To reason, on the other hand, exceeds understanding by serving as the intuitive facility to the soul. To do this, one must become a poet as described by Emerson.
Fantasy writer Philip Pullman says, “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Stories have been central to how human history has been shaped and remembered. On a grand scale, stories have been a way to pass down culture and remember history. On a smaller scales, they have been used to spend an entertaining evening or- often in many cultures, put a child to bed. While the power of a stories is one that has gone generally unnoticed, William Cronon urgently calls us to pay attention to stories. As Cronon argues in “A Place for Stories”, the manner in which a story is told influences what futures generations will both learn and recall on their own.
Rhetoric is the art of effective speaking or writing, and persuasion. Most people use rhetoric numerous of times in their everyday life without their concern or knowing.
The creation of the universe, gods, and humans is one of the most popular topics among myths. Many cultures have passed down creation stories by mouth and through writing so that we are able to know them today. Creation stories were important pieces of information to help humans understand and rationalize their place in life. Cris Campbell of Genealogy of Religion writes, “Though there are undoubtedly other reasons, one of the most important surely is orientation. People need to situate themselves in both time and space. Creation myths serve this need: they provide a temporal and spatial anchor.”
Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance she will receive when her father, Baltus Van Tassel and stepmother, Lady Van Tassel die. However, the film tells the story of Ichabod Crane as an investigator who is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent decapitations that are occurring. These modifications alter the original story entirely, thus failing to capture the Irving’s true interpretation of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The film and the original story have similarities and differences in the plot, characters, and setting.
A Folktale is described as the general term for the verbal, spiritual, and material aspects of any homogeneous preliterate or subliterate culture. These stories have been around and past down generations for thousands of years. Much controversy surrounds Folktales in determining the authenticity of the story. Many cultures strongly believe in their history and the tales that come along with it. On the other hand, many skeptics are headstrong in their beliefs that such characters featured in these folktales cease to exist and are told as entertainment and a way to promote strong ethical values in the generations to come. Folktales fall into the non-fiction genre of literature, which may cause confusion with some people considering we were all