Ocean State Libraries

"This edition of the well-known text on the connection between mythology and storytelling contains a revised chapter on the Star Wars series, new illustrations and diagrams, and new chapters (presented in the appendices) on life force operating in stories, the mechanism of polarity in storytelling, the wisdom of the body, catharsis, and other concepts. The book is meant for all types of writers and outlines guidelines for plot and character development,...

"The first major survey to reveal the ways in which Classical mythology has inspired art throughout the last 2,500 years. From the films of Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers to Margaret Atwood's books and Arcade Fire's songs, Classical Greek and Roman myths continue to be a source of cultural inspiration. The struggles of heroes, both triumphant and tragic, with gods, monsters, and fate, exert a particular grip on our imagination. Visual artists have...

Magic is not simply a matter of the occult arts, but a whole way of thinking, of dreaming the impossible. As such it has tremendous force in opening the mind to new realms of achievement: imagination precedes the fact. It used to be associated with wisdom, understanding the powers of nature, and with technical ingenuity that could let men do things they had never dreamed of before. The supreme fiction of this magical thinking is the Arabian Nights,...