Myth, truth and literature - Colin Falck

Myth, Truth and Literature is a theoretical study which aims to prove the superfluousness of literary theory. The author believes that we now require a 'paradigm-shift' which will replace 'structuralist' and 'post-structuralist' literary theory and will re-establish the validity of such old-fashioned 'Romantic' notions as intuition, imagination and inspiration. He provides philosophical arguments in defence of this view. Myth, he proposes, is the basis of all human knowledge, and the traditional religions have only been special and dogmatically underwritten forms of poetry. Once the dogmatic aspect of religion is removed, it is apparent that religion and poetry are synonymous; the only religious scriptures necessary, therefore, are the poetry or imaginative literature of our culture.