The genre of mythopoeic writing is complicated and multi-faceted - it has many specifics that must be met before any work can be considered ‘true’ mythopoeia. In order to better understand what the mythopoeic genre is, one must first understand what it is not. Mythopoeia is often confused with its closest relatives: fantasy, and that genre itself is often mistaken for science fiction. The mark of a work of fantasy is this: that it is grounded in “the construction of the impossible”; science fiction is about the “unlikely, but scientifically possible” (James 2). So, both fantasy and mythopoeia contain elements of the ‘impossible’ - things so far outside of the limits of our own realm that they must belong in another realm. And it is in this ‘other realm’ that we find the core of the mythopoeic genre: the creation of a legitimate mythology.

What is a ‘legitimate mythology’? It’s an entire world, complete with its own laws [both societal and natural], a history [which sometimes goes back to a creation story], lands, societies, inhabitants, and whatever else the author may think to include. In this case, legitimate does not mean true or real, because it’s a created/artificial mythology made up by the author. Instead, legitimate means believable, well-constructed, thorough, and consistent throughout the entire work.

The most comprehensive explanation of the characteristics of a legitimate mythology have been both explained and exemplified by J.R.R. Tolkien, who is often referred to as the founder of mythopoeia. After all, it was his poem Mythopoeia that brought the term out of obscurity, and his works which are among the greatest examples of mythopoeia.

 

In his essay On Fairy-stories, Tolkien uses many terms to explain the characteristics of what he calls ‘Secondary Worlds’. Below is a list of terms, along with their definitions.

 

• Primary World: The real world that we live in.
   

• Secondary World: The world created within a story.
   

• Secondary belief: the state that results from engagement with the secondary world.
   

• Suspended disbelief: “a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment” (dictionary.com).
   

• Faerie: 1. “the Perilous Realm itself” the realm in which fantasy stories take place; 2. a mythical creature (Tolkien).
   

• Primary belief: the highest form of belief, occurring in the primary world.
   

• Enchantment: “produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their senses while they are inside” (Tolkien 7).
   

• The Eucatastrophic Tale: “the true form of fairy-tale, and its highest function.” (Tolkien 13) Also known as the happy ending fairy tale.

 

 

When a legitimate mythology is present, it creates a believable secondary world into which a reader can immerse themselves. This immersion occurs when a story is enchanting enough to trigger suspended disbelief. Within this state of suspended disbelief, the reader experiences ‘secondary belief’ - they are, in essence, living within this story world. Every scene in the novel they’re reading passes through their mind without setting off any alarm bells. The impossible becomes not only possible, but present, happening right in front of their mind’s eye.

 

The genre of mythopoeia has begun to evolve in recent decades, transforming itself to include the recycling or ‘remaking’ of traditional, established mythologies. This is where an author will take an existing myth - for example, Greek mythology. They will take what is familiar from this mythology and rework it into the world of their novel. The example continues - an author takes the Greek God of the Sea, Poseidon, and thrusts him into modern day New York, where he fathers a child who grows up without a clue of his demigod powers. This isn’t just an example - that is the opening plot for Rick Riordan’s series Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Within this study, examples of these recycled mythologies have been included - the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.