Mythological Extension

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 08:15:22 EDT

On an episode of Xena, Warrior Princess (hopefully I have the title correct) which I saw recently, there was an interesting little bit of business.

Essentially, the story extended the mythological story of Pandora by the simple device of having the box require daily resetting of the lock. In case you've forgotten, Pandora caught the hope of mankind in the box, so her granddaughter was forced to constantly carry the box around and every day do a little work to make sure that hope wasn't lost.

What a beautiful little extension or addition to the myth! The notion that every day we have to do some work to make sure that hope doesn't escape or get lost, turned into a concrete part of the tale through adding a little detail to the box (a time lock that requires regular attention--and we'll ignore the anachronism, if you please).

And that's the challenge. Take a mythological tale, then extend it a bit. Your choice as to whether the story (poem, essay, etc.) which reveals the extension is contemporary, passe, or even quite futuristic.

If you don't remember a myth, let me see...pick a number from one to six, please?

1. Latona and the Rustics
Wherein Latona, bearing twin dieties, begged a drink of water at "this pond of clear water, where the country people were at work gathering willows and osiers."..."but these clowns persisted in their rudeness; they even added jeers and threats of violence if she did not leave the place." and sure enough..."their backs are green, their disproportioned bellies white, and in short they are now frogs and dwell in the slimy pool."

2. Minerva and Arachne
Wherein Arachne "filled her canvas with similar subjects, wonderfully well done, but strongly marking her presumption and impiety." ... "[Arachne] could not endure [her guilt and shame] and went and hanged herself. Minerva pitied her as she saw her suspended by a rope." and so Minerva transformed her into a spider.

3. The Tale of Arion, the Poet
Who set sail for Sicily to compete, was thrown overboard by the sailors (who wanted to steal his wealth) but was allowed to sing one last time before jumping. The dolphins, wooed by the beauty of his song, saved him and set him ashore. "He journeyed on, harp in hand, singing as he went, full of love and happiness, forgetting his losses and mindful only of what remained, his friend and his lyre." And when Periander (King of Corinth) confronted the sailors..."He lives, the master of the lay! Kind Heaven protects the poet's life. As for you, I invoke not the spirit of vengeance; Arion wishes not your blood. Ye slaves of avarice, begone! Seek some barbarous land, and never may aught beautiful delight your souls."

[stories taken from Bulfinch's Mythology, Thomas Bulfinch, Airmont Publishing Company]

4. Holle, Holda, Hoide. "The Frau Holle of German folklore was the German lunar goddess of witches and sabbath. In summer she was to be surprised bathing in forest streams, while in winter she shook down the snowflakes from the trees."

5. Adapa "A sage of Eridu...while fishing, the south wind capsized his boat, and in his fury he broke the wings of the wind, which ceased to blow. Anu summoned him to appear for punishment. ... Anu offered him the bread and water of life but he refused, thus losing forever immortality for men."

6. Aiwel "founder of the hereditary priesthood known as the Spear Masters by the Dinka people of the upper Nile. Aiwel's mother conceived him by allowing the waters of the river to enter her after her own husband died. From early childhood Aiwel possessed the ability of a Spear Master to make his word come true, no matter what the consequences."

Other sources of mythology? There's Joseph Campbell, for example.

Feel free to use other myths or tales, but remember--extend the basic premise. Stretch it into a metaphor that teaches us, that reaches us.

And write!

The Power of Words

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting: Sat, 28 Dec 1996 11:19:34 -0500

[based on p. 28 in The Writing Workshop, Volume 2, by Alan Ziegler ISBN 0-915924-07-2]

"Think of a time when someone used words that affected the way you felt about yourself or something that was going on, making you feel happy, sad, hungry, excited, nervous, relived, etc. What was the context in which the words were spoken? Make the readers understand why the words were powerful to you."

Let's try narrowing that down a bit. In particular, think about a time when someone used words that affected you--except they didn't intend them that way! Whether it's lack of context (hard to hear inflections and such verbal subtleties in the flickering light of these little bits on the screens, for example) or simple mistakes of timing and wording, sometimes people say one thing and we hear something a little different...and maybe they get punched in the nose for giving us a compliment!

So pick out that missed communication. Think it through, think about what it might have been, think about different ways for the play to go...

Then write it up. You can use poetry, an essay, a non-fiction or fiction scene, whatever suits you, but make us feel that impact, that mental whiplash of words you never expected to hear, and follow through... do we ever straighten out the confusion? how do we untie the connotative knot? what salve will sooth the burned ego, the bent id, the deflated superego?

or do those words still burn, a banner of anguish and pain unquenched in the depths of loneliness?

a quick-start?

The video said "I don't think any word can explain a man's life" just before you said it.

[from Citizen Kane, the screenplay, 1941, in case you are wondering]

it was just a word or two between friends...