The Lotus Eater
Mythic Structure in Somerset Maugham’s “The Lotus Eater”
The word ‘myth’ is derived from the Greek word ‘mythos’, which means a traditional tale common to the member of a tribe, race or nation. It usually involves the supernatural elements to explain some natural phenomenon in boldly imaginative terms. Today myth has become one of the most prominent terms in contemporary literature analysis. It was Northrop Frye, one of the most influential myth critics (others including Robert Graves, Francis Fersusson, Richard Chase, Philip Wheelwright), who discovered certain formulas in the word order. He identified these formulas as the “conventional myths and metaphors” which he calls "archetypes". C.G. Jung was of the view the materials of the myth lie in the collective unconscious of the race.
The well-known legend of the lotus-eaters tells us the story of Greek mythology, in which the lotus-eaters, also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses (singular lotophagus) or lotophages (singular lotophage), were a race of people living on an island near North Africa dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy.
Tracing back to the ancient and pagan Greece for its origin, the story proves to be immensely popular and has gradually grown quite deeply rooted in European mythology. With its multiple potentialities, the story has been reused, revamped and reworked on in many formats. The writers of different centuries and countries have seen in it various possibilities and they all in turn have attempted to re-tell the same story, but with different perspectives and purposes. Quite naturally, with its scope of multifaceted interpretations every such attempt brings in new effects, adding new layers to the original legend. Or rather, one may so express it, every time such attempt of re-telling creates the story anew. But however new a facet it may take in every
The word ‘myth’ is derived from the Greek word ‘mythos’, which means a traditional tale common to the member of a tribe, race or nation. It usually involves the supernatural elements to explain some natural phenomenon in boldly imaginative terms. Today myth has become one of the most prominent terms in contemporary literature analysis. It was Northrop Frye, one of the most influential myth critics (others including Robert Graves, Francis Fersusson, Richard Chase, Philip Wheelwright), who discovered certain formulas in the word order. He identified these formulas as the “conventional myths and metaphors” which he calls "archetypes". C.G. Jung was of the view the materials of the myth lie in the collective unconscious of the race.
The well-known legend of the lotus-eaters tells us the story of Greek mythology, in which the lotus-eaters, also referred to as the lotophagi or lotophaguses (singular lotophagus) or lotophages (singular lotophage), were a race of people living on an island near North Africa dominated by lotus plants. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy.
Tracing back to the ancient and pagan Greece for its origin, the story proves to be immensely popular and has gradually grown quite deeply rooted in European mythology. With its multiple potentialities, the story has been reused, revamped and reworked on in many formats. The writers of different centuries and countries have seen in it various possibilities and they all in turn have attempted to re-tell the same story, but with different perspectives and purposes. Quite naturally, with its scope of multifaceted interpretations every such attempt brings in new effects, adding new layers to the original legend. Or rather, one may so express it, every time such attempt of re-telling creates the story anew. But however new a facet it may take in every