I went to a talk recently co-hosted by former poet laureate Andrew Motion. During the Q&A he was asked whether Ancient Greek and Roman mythology had a place in contemporary writing. He cited the production at the National Theatre of Ted Hughes’ version of Racine’s Phedre as proof that it was still relevant. But he then went on to say that in his own teaching of poetry he found his students often lacked knowledge of the stories and characters of mythology which he said was a shame, not least because he had to explain background so often.
I pick up this point because if Motion has to explain mythological references to his students, understandably some will ask why poets continue to use them.
I suggest that for modern writers classical mythology offers a shorthand that can be called upon when personal or direct language presents difficulties, freeing the poet to explore ideas. The characters and events of mythology are about the eternally important issues of what it is to be human: love and anger, war and the reasons for war or lack of them, identity and loss, complexities of family relationships, justice versus the rule of law, what heroism means, hope, despair – these are some examples from a long list. The ancient stories are deceptively simple, giving today’s writers the option to interpret events, characters and themes every which way: symbolism and metaphor being two of the more obvious routes that spring to mind. Or a mythological reference can add a layer of meaning bringing interest or a cause for thought.
As a reader, poems that use classical mythology can sometimes be off-putting. Sadly some poets do petrify ancient myth into formal inaccessible puzzles, and think that a mythological subject matter requires old fashioned language. But a good poem should be understandable on more than one level, and new forms work with familiar themes. If it is a well-written contemporary poem a lack of knowledge of the specific myth should not stop appreciation or enjoyment. However, a reader who is prepared to do the work and find out what the poet means by his or her references, will gain further insight.
What Do You Think?
Do you think classical mythologies have a place in contemporary poetry?
I agree that we want to challenge our youth in the classroom. You can’t grow without being challenged, the problem which I see is how to modivate the youth. You might have some that would look at an assignment like that and be excited but you would have others who would feel the assignment is pointless. In my opinion one of the biggest reasons why our society is lacking intellectually has to do with our value’s as a society. These values are best portrayed in our popular culture. I can maybe name a handfull of programming designed for youth which has intellectuall value. That programming is in the vast minority as the majority of the programming designed for youth is mindless dribble. This is another subject which we could go on in great length about but simply put, I agree that we need to challenge our children but lets also challenge ourselves to provide an environment for our children in which they would actually be excited to learn about these subjects.
Does Classical Mythology Have A Place In Contemporary Poetry?
I would have to say yes.
Every one of the students in my high school was taught of the Greek myths in social studies class. Also, the Greek influence on the rest of the world through philosophy, language, writing and arts.
Included in this high school study of the Greek gods was a brief mention of what their purpose was to the people along with the demigods and human heroes of the Greek myths- (which were all created in poem form or in a play of some sort at their origins, either Greek or Roman).
In regards to the current generation of poets, I feel they all SHOULD read all of the works of the ancient Greek myths in order to get a reference on the basis of our current world civilization. This is because most civilized worlds follow the government and organization of the Greek examples and laws set down by the Greek and other myths of old. The poetry of a civilization should reflect its past, its dreams and its future (as an art form). If some current literature-studied student had not read the Odyssey, The Trojan War, The Iliad, or most of the classic Greek myths; they MUST in order to know what their human past was and how they envisioned their world.
The ancient myths and epic stories helped humanity pass a dark age into an age of wonder. It opened their minds to hear of such human, demigod, and God’s atrocities and emotions. It continues to do so today in the study of myths. It opened the child’s mind of mine (and my high school classmates) to other worlds of possibility, into a new, adult way of thinking.
Ancient myths open your mind and let the imagination of the reader free.
Greek mythology of our ancient past has been taught to countless students and has its place in education, but to say that it should be included in poetry is very stifling to a writer. Poetry should not be bound by rules and guidelines. Poetry in its purest raw form is expression and creativeness. No artist should be told they have to refer or include certain elements into their creations. Whether or not a writer wants to read works of mythology from the past and learn from it is up to the writer individually. Although myths open up a very creative door to the past of our world that does not mean that a modern writer has to be influenced by that past. Maybe if instead of pushing past works on students and writers and allowing them to explore their own creativity we would have less adaptations of ancient stories and more brilliant new unheard stories.
For an English lit student, I would definitely think that having even the slightest knowledge of classical Mythology would be a great jumping off point. Poetry is immersed in the past, very few poems deal with the here and now. Poets have been writing poems based on myths for years; you even see them in Hallmark greeting cards. I for one would believe that having the words of the ancient myths to reference back to could only strengthen the works of a poet. English literature and classical mythology are so intertwined in the books we have all read over the years which are considered the “classics”, how could you not be influenced? The only disadvantage that could possibly come of having this knowledge would be to think that the words you are composing are your own, a mere mortal, while they may actually be the words of one of the Gods of Olympus!
In my humble opinion the state of modern poetry is suffering and a healthy dose of classical mythology would do wonders to bring back quality over quantity. Many younger and new poets sadly don’t have the benefit of reading the great works that have laid the groundwork for many of the excellent poets that we do enjoy today. Plato, Aristotle and Homer all of them gave freely of themselves to help enrich the world that they lived in and in no short point help to enrich the world we still live in today.
Without these unique voices to help explain how the unknown could work, or how a hero is born, or to help fuse with that moral decision or experience of those who came before us, we might find that the vision and experiences that we all take for granted right now would be a little less vivid and taste just a tad bit less sweet and in the end we would all suffer for it. It would do us all well to remember the gift that classical mythology is, so that we can continue to create our own modern poetry every day.
I believe that classical mythology already has a place in contemporary poetry whether the poets themselves, or their readers, realize it or not. So much of our culture comes from the building blocks of classical mythology that we are immersed in it from the time we hear our first fairy tale or nursery rhyme, we are often just not aware of the debt those stories owe to the Greeks and Romans who came before them. We see references to this legacy in our popular culture in Rick Riordan’s series of children’s novels: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the recent comic related movie Thor, and the song “Drops of Jupiter” by Train. Even though many of the children and adults may not understand the full stories behind these, and some may not recognize them at all, they are still familiar themes, names, ideas, that will stick with all of us and deserve to be explored more thoroughly poetically as well. Just as these stories were introduced to us in epic poem form through Homer, Hesiod, Virgil and others, having contemporary retellings or treatments of classical mythological tales would help to make them more accessible and preserve these stories for more than the academically inclined who are willing to accept the challenge of the beautifully written but more difficult to read archaic writers.
That being said, while I do believe that studying and already possessing a working knowledge of classical mythology would make it easier to read poetry from any era, I believe it is essential for a contemporary poet to utilize this knowledge to pass on the essential stories we love in a new, exciting and accessible way.
I have to agree with Heverin Watson on this one: Classical mythology most certainly has a place in contemporary poetry, as with any other aspect of our world that helps explain life and human nature : work, religion, relationships, philosophy, psychology, morality, fantasy etc… However, a poem (for mere entertainment) does not need to be fully understood to be enjoyed.
For comprehension of the poetry utilizing classical mythology, it’s simple: How can anyone grow or learn without being aware of the past/history? To be sure, the creation and fulfillment of one’s own ideas and feelings (outside the parameters of another’s thoughts and expectations) is vital to artistic expression, however, is it wrong that a writer should choose to reference/utilize classical mythology in order to express themselves? Their choice of topic is solely their own. It need not conform to anyone else’s preference (unless of course the writer is only producing for money, in which the opinions of his audience are key).
As many have posted previously, the issue today really is that many have become lackadaisical in their pursuit of knowledge and learning: Challenging them to research or think beyond the scope of what’s in front of them is seen as troublesome.
What many fail to realize is that classical mythology is the origin of most of their favorite stories, books, movies, songs, theories, and even their own thoughts.
Sorry folks, that great idea, that deep philosophical question, that stellar thesis about human life was already thought of long before you came into existence. You might have been aware of that had you taken the time to learn some history!
Having said that, while the knowledge of classical mythology is vital to understanding poetry or relating to poetry on a personal level, it is not vital for one to appreciate a well-written poem. It is sad to say, but in this day and age, entertainment (and not knowledge) is the primary goal.
In my opinion, classical mythology absolutely has a place in contemporary poetry. To me, classic mythology represents the timeless values that people had and the desire to describe life events, theology, beauty, art and everything else. Stories in classical mythology try to teach lessons through examples of events that a general audience can relate to, become emotionally connected with and retain to pass on to others. I would think that a contemporary poet would want his or her views on their perceived reality of a subject to be able to come up with a means to convey more than just their words but their emotions, feelings and impressions as well. I think today as in the future humanity will still be searching for ways to make sense of events beyond our comprehension as well as describe what we feel or how we interpret what we see just as those in the past tried to do. Language suffers immense limitations as I have found when trying to express comfort for someone who has lost someone they cared about or describe the love that I feel for my wife or my children. I don’t suppose that themes of love, laughter, tears or beauty will ever wear out their welcome in poetry of any age. But that is just my two cents.
I believe that classical mythology should indeed have a place in the classroom; it not only makes a young reader think about what the writer is actually writing about it also makes them have to pay attention to how they are writing it and why they are writing it in that way and hopefully it would extend their vocabulary passed LOL or LAMO. It is also is way to look back into a time forgotten…to see the framework of a social structure our predecessors had managed to build and establish entire nations upon without the help of any mass media like viral youtube videos…and at the very least they are very entertaining and inspiring stories as well. It is literary art form and for our youth to be deprived of such a beautiful and cultural experience would be short of a crime on the art(s), all forms of art. I believe that classrooms can spare a few weeks to teach classical mythology and it’s background especially since classical mythology has inspired so much over the years (movies, TV shows, books (non-fiction and fiction), plays, sculptors, paintings, scientific studies, and well the list can go on and on), it is almost like paying back a due in a way.