Introduction

Hello, hello!

Welcome to my new blog all about mythology, folklore, and storytelling. My goal here is to share my thoughts and perhaps spark some debate about various figures and stories from mythology and folklore that are currently used in movies, television shows, and books. I will be looking at works of both fiction and non-fiction, integrating history and social studies into what is hopefully a bit of a broader look at the way storytelling is done today, and how myths and legends are treated and retold.

For me, storytelling is an essential part of life and understanding the stories that we tell is a doorway into understanding a person, society, or culture. Mythology and folklore are those stories which have survived the test of time in various formats and are told over and over again from one generation to the next. By looking at these stories and trying to understand why they were originally told and then why and how we are still telling them today, a lot can be learned about our current culture.

You will probably notice pretty quickly that I have some favorite topics, such as Arthurian legend, Greek mythology, dragons, and of course feminism. As a mythology and folklore major at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, I minored in Classics and also focused on Norse mythology, even spending a semester abroad in Denmark. My studies focused primarily on creation myths and storytelling, touching upon Hinduism, Native American mythology (especially the Iroquois), and various other cultures from around the world. However, I understand that it is difficult to cover any topic thoroughly in a blog post, so I will mostly be approaching these issues on a book by book, movie by movie, or tv show by tv show basis, overlapping when I can.

I encourage people to join the discussion at any point and contribute their thoughts and opinions on the issues being discussed. Storytelling is an art that is in constant fluctuation and multiple perspectives should be considered when discussing any figure or story.

What are some of your favorite myths or folktales?

PS The title for my blog does come from the opening sequence of the BBC's "Merlin". I love the show and will probably be commenting on it at some point but I would like to say that no copyright infringement was intended, it just seemed like and appropriate title.