📖 Myth creation 🌍 Myth development

mythopoiesis

9.9

Making new myths for books or films

noun
/ˌmɪθəˈpɔɪəsɪs/

Literature

: mitopoeisis

Modern fantasy often relies on mythopoiesis to build rich, imaginative worlds.

Examples

Through mythopoiesis, artists reinterpret ancient legends for contemporary audiences.
The author's use of mythopoiesis gives the novel a timeless, legendary quality.
The author's mythopoiesis is evident throughout the novel.
Can you identify the mythopoiesis in this story?
The author's use of mythopoiesis gives the novel a timeless, legendary quality.
Modern fantasy often relies on mythopoiesis to build rich, imaginative worlds.
Through mythopoiesis, artists reinterpret ancient legends for contemporary audiences.

Synonyms

mythmaking

vsmythopoiesis

1 7.0

Creating and sharing stories people accept as true to shape what they think

focuses on inventing original mythic stories rather than promoting existing ones

mythologization

vsmythopoiesis

Formal

9.8

To make a story, person, or event seem like a legend

is about creating new mythic narratives rather than reinterpreting what exists

mythification

vsmythopoiesis

9.1

To make a person or place seem like a legend

involves original invention of mythic stories rather than merely changing appearance

How Mythical

mythopoiesis

Literature

9.9

mythmaking

1 7.0

retelling

13 3.0

storytelling

3.5

Surface Forms

mythopoiesis singular

mythopoieses plural

Morphology

mythopoiesis = myth + poiesis (semi-transparent) = myth + poiesis

The meaning 'creation of myths' directly follows from 'myth' + 'poiesis', but '-poiesis' is a rare, technical combining form unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Mythopoiesis comes from Greek parts myth ('story') and poiesis ('making'), so it is literally 'story-making' and is like how a poet makes poems. So, in literature and art, mythopoiesis means creating new myths or legendary stories that give a work a timeless, larger-than-life feel.