<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The turn of the millennium has brought a revival of interest in the ancient Greek and Roman texts. Obviously, the legacy of antiquity is a permanent feature of Western literature and visual arts; yet, its contemporary manifestation has taken a novel form, that of a retelling. It is a new trend in which a well-known text belonging to the canon is given an unorthodox interpretation, which exposes the ethnic, class, and gender prejudices present in the original. Mythological retellings are often written in an accessible manner containing features of genre fiction, which makes the revised version palatable to ordinary readers. A characteristic feature of mythic fantasy is the shift of focus from heroic exploits to private life as well as putting previously marginal characters into limelight. The retellings are a consequence of new, reflexive research angles that have appeared in the field of the classics.</p>
</abstract>

The turn of the millennium has brought a revival of interest in the ancient Greek and Roman texts. Obviously, the legacy of antiquity is a permanent feature of Western literature and visual arts; yet, its contemporary manifestation has taken a novel form, that of a retelling. It is a new trend in which a well-known text belonging to the canon is given an unorthodox interpretation, which exposes the ethnic, class, and gender prejudices present in the original. Mythological retellings are often written in an accessible manner containing features of genre fiction, which makes the revised version palatable to ordinary readers. A characteristic feature of mythic fantasy is the shift of focus from heroic exploits to private life as well as putting previously marginal characters into limelight. The retellings are a consequence of new, reflexive research angles that have appeared in the field of the classics.

Reflexivity and New Metanarratives. Contemporary English-language Retellings of Classical Mythology

Discourses on Culture

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The turn of the millennium has brought a revival of interest in the ancient Greek and Roman texts. Obviously, the legacy of antiquity is a permanent feature of...

Reflexivity and New Metanarratives. Contemporary English-language Retellings of Classical Mythology

Publié en ligne: 27 déc. 2023

Pages: 85 - 108

Reçu: 28 juil. 2023

Accepté: 25 oct. 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/doc-2023-0012

Mots clés
classics, feminism, mythology, retelling

© 2023 Katarzyna Szmigiero, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Reflexivity and New Metanarratives. Contemporary English-language Retellings of Classical Mythology

Publié en ligne: 27 déc. 2023

Pages: 85 - 108

Reçu: 28 juil. 2023

Accepté: 25 oct. 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/doc-2023-0012

Mots clésclassics, feminism, mythology, retelling

© 2023 Katarzyna Szmigiero, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
classics, feminism, mythology, retelling