The Personal Mythology of Odysseus Elytis: An Analysis of His Poetic Concepts and their Development in His Work from 1935 to 1985

Abstract

Odysseus Elytis is considered one of Greece's foremost modern poets. A prolific writer, and one of the best exponents of the surrealist genre in his country, his work has been translated into many languages, and he is only the second Greek poet to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Not surprisingly, considerable research has been done on various aspects of his work. Many critics allude to Elytis' "personal mythology", yet there has never been any detailed discussion of this term in all the critical literature. This thesis will attempt to rectify this situation; that is, it will endeavour to provide a detailed analysis of Elytis' personal mythology, and the role it plays in his poetry. Indeed it will be shown that it is an integral part of his work, and furthermore, that an understanding of it is essential to a better appreciation of Elytis' poetry. More specifically, the term "personal mythology" will be defined, and it will be demonstrated that it is a system of theories, themes, and motifs - in short, a poetic credo - which dictates the focus of each of the three periods of Elytis' work. As well as this, it provides the poet with a means of portraying those elements which represent the real Greece, rather than any conventional stereotype influenced by Western ideas.