Greek Myth and Myth Retelling: Differences in Adolescent Engagement

https://doi.org/10.65161/recyPKhtoBKYS1O6A

Fiction improves empathetic ability, and increased engagement amplifies these benefits. Readers adopt different types of engagement for fiction and non fiction, but ancient Greek myths are neither. This study provides insights from qualitative interviews of 36 adolescents (aged from 13 to 19) attending a suburban public high school about the differences between engagement in Greek myths versus young adult Greek myth retellings. Using thematic analysis on interview transcripts, differences between the two were found in amount of description, character attachment, reaction to character struggle, effect of prior knowledge, and effect of predictability. The results indicated that the myth retelling used, an excerpt from The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, allowed for greater emotional engagement through empathy because of their plot and character based nature, but this also meant that prior knowledge and the ability to predict the next plot event significantly decreased engagement. Further research should investigate the best way to introduce and contextualize myths and how to best incorporate young adult fantasy Greek myth retellings in the classroom to allow for maximum depth of adolescent engagement, paving way for greater multiperspectivity and empathy among the growing generation.