The nature, functions, and types of myth

Билет Myth and their place in the literature

Myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). Myths are specific accounts of gods or superhuman beings involved in extraordinary events or circumstances in a time that is unspecified but which is understood as existing apart from ordinary human experience. The term mythology denotes both the study of myth and the body of myths belonging to a particular religious tradition

The word myth derives from the Greek mythos, which has a range of meanings from “word,” through “saying” and “story,” to “fiction”; the unquestioned validity of mythoscan be contrasted with logos, the word whose validity or truth can be argued and demonstrated. Because myths narrate fantastic events with no attempt at proof, it is sometimes assumed that they are simply stories with no factual basis, and the word has become a synonym for falsehood or, at best, misconception. In the study of religion, however, it is important to distinguish between myths and stories that are merely untrue.

The first part of this article discusses the nature, study, functions, cultural impact, and types of myth, taking into account the various approaches to the subject offered by modern branches of knowledge. In the second part, the specialized topic of the role of animals and plants in myth is examined in some detail. The mythologies of specific cultures are covered in the articles Greek religion, Roman religion, and Germanic religion.

The nature, functions, and types of myth

Myth has existed in every society. Indeed, it would seem to be a basic constituent of human culture. Because the variety is so great, it is difficult to generalize about the nature of myths. But it is clear that in their general characteristics and in their details a people’s myths reflect, express, and explore the people’s self-image. The study of myth is thus of central importance in the study both of individual societies and of human culture as a whole.

Mythology can refer to the collected myths of a group of people—their body of stories which they tell to explain nature, history, and customs.^[1] It can also refer to the study of such myths.^[2][3]

A myth is a story which is not true. The definition of the word myth is still subject to debate. Myths may be very old, or new (for example: urban myths). There may not be records or other proof that they happened, but at least some parts of myths may be true. We know about them from older people telling them to younger people. Some myths may have started as 'true' stories but as people told and re-told them, they may have changed some parts, so they are less 'true'. They may have changed them by mistake, or to make them more interesting. All cultures have myths. Stories about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are myths.

Many people once believed in mythological animals and gods. These animals or gods may have control or has power over a part of human or natural life. For example, the Greek god Zeus had powers over lightning and storms. Whenever Zeus wanted to, he could make a storm, and that he made storms to show his anger. Another example is that of the Egyptian god, Atum, who was said to be the creator of everything in the world. In Hindu mythology, the cause ofthunderstorms was said to be the wrath of Indra, the chief of all gods. His most powerful weapon was the Vajra 1, or 'thunderbolt'. It was said that no one could survive after an attack from this weapon.

14 Means of epic Imagery, in a literary text, is an author's use of vivid and descriptive language to add depth to his or her work. It appeals to human senses to deepen the reader's understanding of the work. Powerful forms of imagery engage all of the senses pro lenses.

Imagery often makes writing more fascinating through the use of sensual details and adds to deeper symbolic meaning to the text alluring to all senses. Imagery is not defined to visual imagery; it includes olfactory (smell), auditory (sound), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), thermal (heat and cold), and kinesthetic sensation (movement).

Visual Imagery:relating to visual scenes, graphics, pictures, or the sense of sight.
Example:

• The clouds were low and hairy like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
• The iced branches shed ‘crystal shells.’

Auditory Imagery: relating to sounds, noises, music, sense of hearing or choosing words with a sound that imitates real sounds in the form of onomatopoeia. Words such as “bang!” “achoo!” “cacaw!” "buzz!" all work to describe sounds that most people are familiar with. Onomatopoeia is used mostly in poetry, but has its function in prose.
Example:

• Joanna, the minute she set her eyes on him, let loose the scream of her life.
• The rumbling sound of clouds, indicated start of monsoon.

Olfactory Imagery:is concerning aromas, smell, odors, scents, or the sense of smell.
Example:

• She smelled as sweet as roses.
• I was awakened by the strong smell of a freshly brewed coffee.

Gustatory Imagery:pertains to tastes, flavors, palates or the sense of taste.
Example:

• Christina served the bland sea-prawns pasta with the sweet mariana sauce.
• Joshua touched the naked wire. It was the biggest mistake of his life.

Tactile Imagery: is concerning physical touches, textures or the sense of touch.
Example:

• The cold water touched his skin and he felt a shudder run down his spine.
• Chloe came running and touched every nook and corner of my face with her slobbering tongue.

Kinesthetic Imagery:pertains to movements or the sense of bodily motion.
Example:

• Ange's heartbeat was so loud, she felt it could be heard across the room.
• The clay oozed between Jacob's fingers as he let out a squeal of pure glee.

Organic Imagery or Subjective Imagery:are the personal experiences of a character's physique, body, including emotion and the senses of hunger, thirst, fatigue, sickness, agony and pain.
Example: Life is too much like a pathless wood.

Modality of the text

In semiotics, a modality is a particular way in which information is to be encoded for presentation to humans, i.e. to the type of sign and to the status of reality ascribed to or claimed by a sign, text or genre. It is more closely associated with the semiotics of Charles Peirce (1839–1914) than Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) because meaning is conceived as an effect of a set of signs. In the Peircean model, a reference is made to an object when the sign (or representamen) is interpreted recursively by another sign (which becomes its interpretant), a conception of meaning that does in fact imply a classification of sign types

Modality is about communicating contrasting attitudes in the speaker or author of a text.

So, the modality refers to a certain type of information and/or the representation format in which information is stored. Themedium is the means whereby this information is delivered to the senses of the interpreter. Natural language is the primary modality, having many invariant properties across the auditory media as spoken language, the visual media as written language, the tactile media as Braille, and kinetic media as sign language. When meaning is conveyed by spoken language, it is converted into sound waves broadcast by the speaker and received by another's ears. Yet this stimulus cannot be divorced from the visual evidence of the speaker's manner and gestures, and the general awareness of the physical location and its possible connotative significance. Similarly, meaning that is contained in a visual form cannot be divorced from the iconicity and implications of the form. If handwritten, is the writing neat or does it evidence emotion in its style. What type of paper is used, what colour ink, what kind of writing instrument: all such questions are relevant to an interpretation of the significance of what is represented. But images are distinguishable from natural language. For Roland Barthes (1915–80), language functions with relatively determinate meanings whereas images "say" nothing. Nevertheless, there is arhetoric for arranging the parts which are to signify, and an emerging, if not yet generally accepted, syntax that articulates their parts and binds them into an effective whole. Rhetorician Thomas Rosteck defined rhetoric "as the use of language and other symbolic systems to make sense of our experiences, construct our personal and collective identities, produce meaning, and prompt action in the world