When studying mythology, it is important to consider the role that orality plays in the shaping of such work. Mythology was born out of societies that were celebrating oral performance. Words were shared with others through public performance rather than written decrees. People were used to learning new information that was delivered to them by word of mouth. Only later, as written language was developed, were these texts transcribed and passed down in a physically documented manner.
As we consider orality, we should recognize that this makes traditional mythology more fluid than the modern literature which is transfixed on the page through the process of publication, rather than through performance. This fluidity required, or lent itself to, more poetic devices as the rhythm of such performance was both easier to deliver, and easier to absorb as a listener, when there was a natural movement to the communication.2 The intersectionality of mythology and publishing would mean that the need for poetic language was no longer a practical necessity, but the loss of such language construction doesn’t necessarily impact the shape of mythology for the better.
In examining orality, we also must discuss the role orality plays out in the classrooms throughout the country. In Dr. Zaretta Hammond’s work on culturally responsive classrooms, there is a bit of discuss on the importance placed on the written word in the American classroom.3 This is not a cultural standard shared by all students’ cultures, though, attending educational spaces in this country. There are many students who come from communities that celebrate the oral culture and it is important to consider the role this plays in the classroom.
