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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. From where does Leeming take the term "monomyth?"

2. When does Leeming say heroes tend to be born?

3. Who sent the serpents that devoured the character who warned the Trojans not to accept the Greeks' wooden horse?

4. Where does Leeming say the garden, grove, and cave derive their sanctity?

5. How does Leeming define the hero?

Short Essay Questions

1. What traits does Leeming describe in heroes?

2. How does Leeming define the hero?

3. What does Leeming see places and objects as metaphors for?

4. How does Leeming describe the significance of Jerusalem?

5. What significance does Leeming attribute to trees in myth?

6. How does Leeming describe the fall of Troy?

7. What is significant in the story of Teiresias, in Leeming's description?

8. Where does Leeming see images of the Great Mother in cathedrals?

9. How does Leeming describe the story of Joan of Arc?

10. What significance does Leeming attribute to the labyrinth in myth?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of the hero in contemporary culture? Are celebrities heroes, and if so, what traits distinguish them as heroes? Make an argument for the heroic status of a contemporary figure, using the definitions Leeming uses in The World of Myth.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze two similar myths from different cultures, and characterize the fundamental correspondence between them. How do you account for the distinct features of each myth? Are they culturally relevant markers that characterize each culture? Are they superfluous to the essential myth itself, and therefore merely personal or individual in nature?

Essay Topic 3

What is the setting for a myth, and is this collection the proper place for keeping these myths alive? Does a myth require a ceremonial, ritual, or religious setting, or a certain storytelling environment, or is a myth no matter where it is told or recorded. How much is a myth dependent on the circumstances of its telling? Is a myth different when it is analyzed than it is when it is told as a story in response to events of a question?

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