Myths and Ancient Stories: Narrative, Meaning and Influence in the West

Myths and Ancient Stories explores the stories of pre-modern culture, comparing how they have shaped the West and modern storytelling, and tracing narrative meaning through texts from ancient Mesopotamia to the British Medieval Period. It also explores myth through a modern lens, examining how it continues to inspire contemporary film, games, and literary works.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

An introduction to ancient myths and the critical discussions that surround them, this book dives into the stories of pre-modern culture, taking a comparative look at how they have shaped the West and modern storytelling as we have come to understand it today. It makes texts and scholarship from near Eastern, Classical and Celtic disciplines engaging and accessible, and traces narrative meaning through stories from ancient Mesopotamia to the British Medieval Period, offering compelling pathways into such writings as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis and Job, The Odyssey, The Mabinogi, The Life of St Cadoc and Sir Orfeo. Looking at each in detail, Myths and Ancient Stories also explores myth through a modern lens, probing at how, in this scientific age, it continues to inspire contemporary film, games and literary works such as those by Margaret Atwood, Colm Tóibín, Madeleine Miller and Pat Barker. Impressive in breadth and bringing together a wide range of foundational texts from diverse traditions for the first time, this work is the ideal orientation to the ancient works central to English literary culture, shedding light on the mythological roots of storytelling and narrative.

Weight: 350g
Dimension: 157 x 234 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350346857