July 15 – Happy Birthday, Thomas Bulfinch

nPostednon July 15, 2015

nMythsnand legends and folklore are often seen as a subject for study –nthey might appear in textbooks, tests, and college coursework – butnThomas Bulfinch collect these sorts of stories, “not as a study,nbut as a relaxation from study.”

nBornnin Massachusetts on this date in 1796, back when the United Statesnwas a young nation, Bulfinch wanted to create books that would helpnmen and women to understand allusions made to myths by publicnspeakers, poets, and other writers.

nWhatnis an allusion?

nAnnallusion is either an indirect reference or a passing reference tonsomething or someone, in an attempt to call to the hearer’s (ornreader’s) mind complex ideas, images, or emotions.

nAncommon sort of allusion is to say something like, “Tom’s a totalnEinstein.” In this case, the speaker is referencing a well knownreal person, Albert Einstein. In alluding to Einstein in hisndescription of Tom, the speaker tells us that Tom is really, reallynsmart. We probably also get the idea that Tom is a genius, and thensort of genius who is brilliant at math and science, probably, rathernthan music or art.

nLiterarynallusions often refer to the Bible or Shakespeare. A line in one ofnmy favorite poems, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost,nalludes to a Bible story:

Nature’snfirst green is gold, n

Her hardest hue to hold. nHer early leaf’s a flower; nBut only so an hour. nThen leaf subsides to leaf. nSo Eden sank to grief, nSo dawn goes down to day. nNothing gold can stay.

nThe use of the place namen“Eden” suggests that Frost is talking about perfection, purity,nand idealism changing into something more practical and slightlynsoiled by mistakes and flaws.

nSomenallusions – both in everyday speech and in literature – refer tonmyths other than Bible stories. The Greek myths are perhaps the mostnfamous. Here are a couple of examples:

n[Everyday speech]:nOpening the door to the frat house was like…well, you know,nPandora’s box!

n[Literature, from thenplay Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare:]

Mercutio: Take Cupid’snwings and fly higher than the average man.

n
Romeo: His arrow hasnpierced me too deeply, so I can’t fly high with his cheerfulnfeathers.

nThomasnBullfinch wanted to make sure that men and women understood allusionsnto the Midas Touch, to Arcady, to the Knights of the Round Table, andnso forth, so he made collections of stories in the mid-1800s:

nGreek and Roman and Norsenmyths

nLegends of King Arthur

nLegends of Charlemagne

nSincenBulfinch’s collections of myths were especially designed to informn“genteel Americans” about everything they needed to know tonquickly understand literary allusions, he made sure that the versionsnhe used were correct. However, he removed what he considerednunnecessary sex and violence. n