View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Theses Department of English 12-2009 Heroes with a Hundred Names: Mythology and Folklore in Robert Penn Warren's Early Fiction Leverett Belton Butts, IV Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Butts, IV, Leverett Belton, "Heroes with a Hundred Names: Mythology and Folklore in Robert Penn Warren's Early Fiction." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2009. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_theses/71 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. HEROES WITH A HUNDRED NAMES: MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE IN ROBERT PENN WARREN‘S EARLY FICTION by LEVERETT BELTON BUTTS, IV Under the Direction of Thomas McHaney ABSTRACT This dissertation examines Robert Penn Warren‘s use of Arthurian legend, Judeo-Christian folklore, Norse mythology, and ancient vegetation rituals in his first four novels. It also illustrates how the use of these myths helps define Warren‘s Agrarian ideals while underscoring his subtle references to these ideals in his early fiction.