Abstract

Due to extreme discrepancies in comprehension of the literary myth, many modern literary scholars consider it as a very broad concept which may be used for any occasion to define any research subject. The myth is often identified with an archetype, a theme or a motif, which leads to misunderstandings. The author of this study proposes to apply a term of the literary myth only to stories about certain events, retold in various works, whose heroes are particular people or beings with human features. This “minimum” definition of the literary myth, which does not take into account the characteristics and functions that are usually attributed to the myth, and which at the same time allows to distinguish it from other concepts used in literary studies, may be a starting point for studies of various kinds and is intended by the author to facilitate the theoretical discussion on the myths in literature.