In ten pages this paper examines Transformation of Myth Through Time and Man with a Thousand Faces in a consideration of past and present mythology as perceived by Joseph Campbell. Ten sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_MBmyth.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
In a recent study
of the origins of theater and ritual dramas, it was discovered that irregardless of national boundaries and ethnic backgrounds of the peoples of the world, ritual dramas, which gave way
to modern drama and theater, all shared some of the same basic mythological foundations. One may not be struck by the amazing discovery unless one stops to recall that in
the earliest dawns of mankinds civilization there were no modes of communication between the continents. So, how did the same myths arise at the same time, and at the same
period of history? One of this centurys greatest researchers on mythology is Joseph Campbell. His book, Transformation of Myth Through
Time, is considered to still be one of the leading authoritative literatures and compilations in this area. Early in the evolution of his studies, Campbell developed an idea of the
elementary idea and the folk idea. The Elementary idea, according to Campbell, is that single universal truth that is apparent in
the work of all the worlds peoples from the beginning of time. These truths may be presented in the cultural context in which they find themselves, but beneath the social
trappings and historical rhetoric lies the truth, or the elementary idea. Interestingly enough, these same elementary truths, more or less, still serve to act as guideposts for modern man.
Some of the myths that Campbell introduces are the ideas of love. This seems to be almost centralized to most of the worlds