Learning to live: the humanist interpretation of classical mythology in children's literature
- Author
- Sylvie Geerts (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Western cultural history shows a persistent fascination for classical mythology. The continuous development of literary theories bears witness of an attempt to grasp the elusive concept of myth and creative expressions in art and literature ceaselessly invest the ancient stories with new meanings. Studies of the reception of traditional narratives in literature point out how different interpretations of the same story interrelate with a broad socio-cultural context. As such, the large number of adaptations and rewritings of classical myths reveals a continuously changing and at the same time often conservative cultural history. A particular form of reception of Greek mythology are adaptations for children and young adults. The practice of retelling traditional stories, among which those of classical mythology, does not only stand at the beginning of the relatively recent development of a separate literature for young readers. A glance at the children’s book market in the Netherlands and Flanders clearly shows that the interest in classical mythological narratives has anything but decreased in the last decennia. The aspects of the socio-cultural context that are reflected within this rich tradition relate to the classics and specifically also to education, the child and children’s literature. Within a literature that shows a continuous concern with pedagogical issues, special attention goes to issues of maturation and the development of the self. Remarkably, a humanist conception of the self and identity has thereby remained dominant. This paper focuses upon the striking parallels between the adaptation of Greek myths by Dutch children’s authors such as Imme Dros (°1936) and the humanist interpretation of theorists as Jean-Pierre Vernant (°1914) and Luc Ferry (°1951). In such a manner, it aims to provide insight in the specificity and complexity of the treatment of classical mythology within children’s literature and to make clear that literature and criticism often express similar ideas, be it for a different audience and in different forms with their own limitations and possibilities.
- Keywords
- Receptions of classical mythology, Children's Literature
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-2974943
- MLA
- Geerts, Sylvie. “Learning to Live: The Humanist Interpretation of Classical Mythology in Children’s Literature.” Receptions of Antiquity, edited by Jan Nelis, Academia Press, 2011, pp. 243–52.
- APA
- Geerts, S. (2011). Learning to live: the humanist interpretation of classical mythology in children’s literature. In J. Nelis (Ed.), Receptions of antiquity (pp. 243–252). Ghent, Belgium: Academia Press.
- Chicago author-date
- Geerts, Sylvie. 2011. “Learning to Live: The Humanist Interpretation of Classical Mythology in Children’s Literature.” In Receptions of Antiquity, edited by Jan Nelis, 243–52. Ghent, Belgium: Academia Press.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Geerts, Sylvie. 2011. “Learning to Live: The Humanist Interpretation of Classical Mythology in Children’s Literature.” In Receptions of Antiquity, ed by. Jan Nelis, 243–252. Ghent, Belgium: Academia Press.
- Vancouver
- 1.Geerts S. Learning to live: the humanist interpretation of classical mythology in children’s literature. In: Nelis J, editor. Receptions of antiquity. Ghent, Belgium: Academia Press; 2011. p. 243–52.
- IEEE
- [1]S. Geerts, “Learning to live: the humanist interpretation of classical mythology in children’s literature,” in Receptions of antiquity, J. Nelis, Ed. Ghent, Belgium: Academia Press, 2011, pp. 243–252.
@incollection{2974943, abstract = {{Western cultural history shows a persistent fascination for classical mythology. The continuous development of literary theories bears witness of an attempt to grasp the elusive concept of myth and creative expressions in art and literature ceaselessly invest the ancient stories with new meanings. Studies of the reception of traditional narratives in literature point out how different interpretations of the same story interrelate with a broad socio-cultural context. As such, the large number of adaptations and rewritings of classical myths reveals a continuously changing and at the same time often conservative cultural history. A particular form of reception of Greek mythology are adaptations for children and young adults. The practice of retelling traditional stories, among which those of classical mythology, does not only stand at the beginning of the relatively recent development of a separate literature for young readers. A glance at the children’s book market in the Netherlands and Flanders clearly shows that the interest in classical mythological narratives has anything but decreased in the last decennia. The aspects of the socio-cultural context that are reflected within this rich tradition relate to the classics and specifically also to education, the child and children’s literature. Within a literature that shows a continuous concern with pedagogical issues, special attention goes to issues of maturation and the development of the self. Remarkably, a humanist conception of the self and identity has thereby remained dominant. This paper focuses upon the striking parallels between the adaptation of Greek myths by Dutch children’s authors such as Imme Dros (°1936) and the humanist interpretation of theorists as Jean-Pierre Vernant (°1914) and Luc Ferry (°1951). In such a manner, it aims to provide insight in the specificity and complexity of the treatment of classical mythology within children’s literature and to make clear that literature and criticism often express similar ideas, be it for a different audience and in different forms with their own limitations and possibilities.}}, author = {{Geerts, Sylvie}}, booktitle = {{Receptions of antiquity}}, editor = {{Nelis, Jan}}, isbn = {{9789038218830}}, keywords = {{Receptions of classical mythology,Children's Literature}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{243--252}}, publisher = {{Academia Press}}, title = {{Learning to live: the humanist interpretation of classical mythology in children's literature}}, year = {{2011}}, }