First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

'Serious students will savor Meletinsky's rich and complex book. The opening section alone is valuable for its erudite examination of modern theory about myth, with special attention to Levi-Strauss and the structuralists. Meletinsky grasps the essentials of theories he discusses and makes clear distinctions between them Highly recommended for upper division undergraduates, graduate students and teachers/scholars of myth.' - Choice

Focusing on the mythological narratives that influence Irish children's literature, this book examines the connections between landscape, time and identity, positing that myth and the language of myth offer authors and readers the opportunity to engage with Ireland's culture and heritage. It explores the recurring patterns of Irish mythological narratives that influence literature produced for children in Ireland between the nineteenth and the twenty-first centuries. A selection of children's books published between 1892, when there was an escalation of the cultural pursuit of Irish independence and 2016, which marked the centenary of the Easter 1916 rebellion against English rule, are discussed with the aim of demonstrating the development of a pattern of retrieving, re-telling, remembering and re-imagining myths in Irish children's literature. In doing so, it examines the reciprocity that exists between imagination, memory, and childhood experiences in this body of work.

"... transcends the realm of literature and poetic criticism to include virtually every field of Arabic and Islamic studies." --Roger Allen Throughout the classical Arabic literary tradition, from its roots in pre-Islamic Arabia until the end of the Golden Age in the 10th century, the courtly ode, or qasida, dominated other poetic forms. In The Poetics of Islamic Legitimacy, Suzanne Stetkevych explores how this poetry relates to ceremony and political authority and how the classical Arabic ode encoded and promoted a myth and ideology of legitimate Arabo-Islamic rule. Beginning with praise poems to pre-Islamic Arab kings, Stetkevych takes up poetry in praise of the Prophet Mohammed and odes addressed to Arabo-Islamic rulers. She explores the rich tradition of Arabic praise poems in light of ancient Near Eastern rites and ceremonies, gender, and political culture. Stetkevych's superb English translations capture the immediacy and vitality of classical Arabic poetry while opening up a multifaceted literary tradition for readers everywhere.

The pursuit of 'myth' has long been an important part of Celtic studies. Are there, in fact, waifs and strays of ancient mythology preserved in medieval Celtic texts? Do myths reflect a prehistoric world-view, history, or literary innovation? And how are old myths refitted, and new myths invented, by writers in medieval and modern times? These are some of the questions compellingly addressed in the studies collected in this issue of the Yearbook, featuring groundbreaking work on: the mythological underpinnings of names in the Welsh Mabinogi; the story of Branwen and the clash between Britain and Ireland; the figure of the 'holy mermaid' in medieval Irish literature; horses, dogs, and King Arthur; and the ideological implications of 'insularity'. Contributors include Phillip Bernhardt-House, Ranke de Vries, Jessica Hemming, Catherine McKenna, and Thomas O'Loughlin.