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Mythopoeia

Philosophy
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Mythopoeia is the conscious creation of myth, often to restore meaning in a disenchanted age. Tolkien saw it as sub-creation reflecting divine truth.

Detailed Definition
Poetry engages mythopoeia by inventing archetypes, cosmologies, or sacred narratives. Philosophically, it asserts that humans are myth-making creatures—using story to order chaos, embed values, and re-enchant the world, where verse becomes ritual space for collective meaning-making.
Example
Example in poetry:
J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Mythopoeia” defends sub-creation as divine reflection; William Blake’s prophetic books invent Zoas and Emanations as personal cosmology; H.D.’s Helen in Egypt reimagines Greek myth through feminist and mystical lens; Derek Walcott’s Omeros creates Caribbean epic with Homeric and local gods; Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies construct angelology as modern myth; Louise Glück’s Meadowlands rewrites Odyssey through lens of divorce and contemporary America.
Additional Notes
Mythopoeia is conscious myth-making to restore meaning. In poetry, it appears as invented cosmologies: Tolkien’s “Mythopoeia,” Walcott’s Omeros. Students should analyze how poets use myth to critique or heal modernity. Related to archetypes, exegesis, and metaxy. Professors can link it to post-secular spirituality.
Also Known As
Myth-making Mythopoeic thought Mythopoeic style
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