Myth and Literary History: Two Germanic Examples
Joseph Harris
The Albert Lord and Milman Parry Lecture for 2003 Under the care of its founder, John Miles Foley, Center Studies in Oral Tradition, together with journal has become preeminent institution field America; as itself widens, Center's importance study humanities can only grow. annual Series is one aspect that widening outreach, I feel very honored to be able follow distinguished provocative humanists series follow, though more distantly, themselves. topic agreed on my contribution was slippery subject myth, current preoccupation, not because some detailed research projects hand, but urgently a new undergraduate seminar general looms immediate horizon. There's nothing like kind teaching force return basic ideas. Bless them, undergraduates won't let body hide behind philology! realize myth fits problematically into format lectures mandate Tradition; fact far skimming eye could discover, no article Tradition's eighteen luminous years confessed title principle concern myth—admittedly this impression product meticulous research. In any case, usually deal concretely (even if also theoretically) form, content, performance oral literature or else cultural matrix, especially oralities literacies. These topics been among main interests too ever since understanding destabilized refashioned by teacher about 1963. Less famously, however, had keen interest well. 1968-69, year worked him head fellow General Education course known Hum 9, we tried, between sit-ins microphone take-overs SDS tear-gas attacks authorities, teach formalist approaches such Raglan's famous hero pattern. That's when it became clear me Mr. (to use form [End Page 3] address at Harvard time) crypto-ritualist Vladimir Propp, whom endeavored interpret restless student hordes who quite unreasonably understand why American lives should sacrificed an imperial adventure. (Thank goodness there's going today: times, they have a-changed.) myth-ritual approach perhaps appealed Lord, still does me, ties which constantly threatens grade off formlessness, ritual apprehended described performative terms. Insofar words spoken ritual, Jane Harrison's "things said over things done," concept doubly opened structural formal approaches, first being definite, particular utterance second grounded actions presumably find echoes utterance. school, full vigor exciting scholarship Walter Burkert (e.g., 1966, 1983, 1987, 1996)and, somewhatattenuated, own recent work (1999, forthcoming a), brings same perceptual orbit move students literature. Meanwhile, generally widely understood simply will pinioned either certain actions, result myths jettison huge semantic penumbra around word "myth" order arrive their clarities. competence, early Germanic mythology, connection often than purely hypothetical often...
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