What is Myth?

Rather than belonging to one genre, this tale actually serves as an etiological tale—a type of story which explains why something has happened without necessarily providing an origin for it—which shows that it is more accurately categorized outside our traditional definition for myth. Stories like this demonstrate that some tales often referred to as mythical have a different purpose and structure and should be recognized as such instead of being labeled simply as “myths” without further thought given to what exactly makes them unique. Ultimately, recognizing differences between various types of folklore helps us better understand each individual type and also strengthen our understanding of what truly constitutes a mythical story according to our course definition. By understanding both how specific tales differ from myths while also learning more about the important characteristics that make up true myths we can expand our knowledge base with regards to mythology in general while still remaining true to our initial definitions surrounding what qualifies as a genuine mythical story.

Sample Solution

The definition of myth in this class is based on the four genres of myth that categorize stories by their purpose: cosmogony, explanation, justification and entertainment. However, there are many stories which are commonly referred to as myths but which do not fit into any of these categories. One example of such a story is the Tower of Babel found in the Old Testament. This tale seeks to explain why language diversity exists rather than describing how it came about or justifying its existence, so it does not fit into any one genre from our definition.