The myth of the birth of the hero : a psychological exploration of myth
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The myth of the birth of the hero : a psychological exploration of myth
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004
- Other Title
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Der Mythus von der Geburt des Helden : Versuch einer Psychologischen Mythendeutung
- Uniform Title
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Mythus von der Geburt des Helden
Available at 2 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [129]-142) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Originally published in German in 1909, Otto Rank's The Myth of the Birth of the Hero offered psychoanalytical interpretations of mythological stories as a means of understanding the human psyche. Like his mentor Freud, Rank compared the myths of such figures as Oedipus, Moses, and Sargon with common dreams, seeing in both a symbolic fulfillment of repressed desire. Thirteen years later, Rank substantially revised this seminal work, incorporating new discoveries in psychoanalysis, mythology, and ethnology, doubling the size of the book. This expanded second edition has never before been available in English. For the second edition, Rank added anthropological considerations of primitive and civilized peoples to those of mythology; extensive discussions of birth dreams, flood legends, and rescue fantasies; and new mythological examples-among them Dionysus, Kullervo (a precursor of Hamlet), Trakhan, and Tristan-as well as fuller treatments of Sargon and Moses. Eloquently translated by Gregory C. Richter and E. James Lieberman, this volume also includes an introductory essay by Robert A. Segal and Rank's 1914 essay, "The Play in Hamlet."
Table of Contents
Introductory Essay by Robert A. Segal, Ph.D.
Translators' Introduction
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
1. Introduction
2. The Cycle of Myths
3. The Interpretation of the Myths
The Play within Hamlet
Understanding of the Work
Notes
References
Index
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