Module 2: Section 3

Literary Elements: Story Structure in Mythology

One way of learning about mythology is to look at some of the common elements between stories. For example, many cultures have unique creation and destruction myths: stories that explain how the world began or explain why the world is how it is currently. A common theme in destruction mythology is the occurrence of a flood or other natural disaster that caused the community to fracture, relocate, or otherwise change.

When reading mythology, it is important to remember that these stories originated in a different time and from many diverse cultural contexts. One of the most interesting things about creation and other stories such as “flood” or other destruction mythology is that despite being separated by time and geography, many cultures developed myths that contain the same basic elements!

While the characters, plot, and setting may differ, look for the story elements each myth has in common: introduction, conflict, climax, and resolution.