Sylvia Lopez
English 25
Professor Lennon
February 13, 2017
Writing Assignment #1 - Rewrite
They Myth of Northern Europe in
The Creation, Death, And Rebirth of the Universe
In the book, “World Mythology” the author, Rosenberg shares a short story called “The Creation, Death, and Rebirth of the Universe.” The setting of this story is a place called Niflheim where it is cold, foggy, and harsh which is similar to the myths of the Northern Europe because people in Northern Europe “face long, cold winters, short growing seasons that often yield a less-than-abundant harvest, and a lack of sophisticated medical knowledge.” This myth shows a universe where the physical environment often threatens human survival.
In this short story, King Gylfi who is the ruler of Sweden, transforms himself into an old man named Gangleri to learn about the nature of the universe and goes to visit the great gods in their hall in Asgard. Throughout the story, the diction that is used to describe the setting is very descriptive which gives a better understanding of the relationship between the story’s setting and the myths of the Northern Europe. For example, one of the great gods who was named ‘Third’ introduced the second world to come to its existence. He said, “...Niflheim, (fog home)” and “...the foamy venom from their waves hardened and turned into ice.” The words, Fog and Ice are words that are used to describe something cold, very similar to the Northern Europe myths. The type of creation myth that is presented in the story is the first kind of creation myth which is the creation of the entire universe. Some may begin with: chaotic; formless mass that a god separates, a group of two or more gods who multiply, or the creator- god brings life to earth in form of plants, animals, and humans.
In this short story, King Gylfi who is the ruler of Sweden, transforms himself into an old man named Gangleri to learn about the nature of the universe and goes to visit the great gods in their hall in Asgard. Throughout the story, the diction that is used to describe the setting is very descriptive which gives a better understanding of the relationship between the story’s setting and the myths of the Northern Europe. For example, one of the great gods who was named ‘Third’ introduced the second world to come to its existence. He said, “...Niflheim, (fog home)” and “...the foamy venom from their waves hardened and turned into ice.” The words, Fog and Ice are words that are used to describe something cold, very similar to the Northern Europe myths. The type of creation myth that is presented in the story is the first kind of creation myth which is the creation of the entire universe. Some may begin with: chaotic; formless mass that a god separates, a group of two or more gods who multiply, or the creator- god brings life to earth in form of plants, animals, and humans.
