Mythopoeic Narrative in The Legend of Zelda

Anthony G. Cirilla is Assistant Professor of English Literature at College of the Ozarks and associate editor of Carmina Philosophiae, the Journal of the International Boethius Society. He received his PhD in English literature from Saint Louis University and has published and presented extensively in both Boethius and videogame studies. Vincent E. Rone (PhD, 2014, UC Santa Barbara) writes, composes, teaches, and performs. He specializes in sacred-music reforms of Catholic France and the music of fantasy, notably The Lord of the Rings and The Legend of Zelda franchises. He currently is co-editing an anthology, Nostalgia and Videogame Music.

"Cirilla and Rone's collection marks an important moment for The Legend of Zelda franchise. These essays affirm the franchise’s continuing significance to Game Studies and also illuminate meaningful contexts for future scholarship." Adam Crowley, Associate Professor of English, Husson University, author of The Wealth of Virtual Nations: Videogame Currencies"Through a diversity of approaches, this wonderful volume convincingly builds a case for the immersive mythmaking power of a franchise that’s as beloved to fantasy gaming as Tolkien’s work is to fantasy literature. By pushing the boundary of videogame scholarship into specializations—in this case Zelda Studies—the authors remind us that the question worth asking is no longer whether videogames are art, but how." Luke Cuddy, Professor of Philosophy, Southwestern College

• Introduction: Zelda, Mythopoeia, and the Importance of Developing an "Inside" Perspective on Videogames Anthony G. CirillaFoundations: Mythmakers and Myth-PlayersChapter 1. Digital Mythopoeia: Exploring modern myth-making in The Legend of Zelda Alicia Fox-LenzChapter 2. Extrapolative Silence in Mythopoeic Spectacle, or, Why does Link Look so Bored? Thomas RowlandChapter 3 Curiositas and Critical Glitches: Speedrunning The Legend of Zelda Ethan Smilie The Legend of Zelda: Entrance into Mythopoeic StructureChapter 4. The Hero of Faёrie: The Triforce and Transformational Play in Link’s Mythopoeic JourneyAnthony G. Cirilla Chapter 5. Twilight and Faërie: The Music of Twilight Princess as Tolkienesque Nostalgia Vincent E. Rone Chapter 6. The Domestic Champion in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Michael David ElamThere’s Something Mything Here: Problems of Counter-Structure or Contra-Structure in Zelda’s Mythopoeic MethodsChapter 7. "You Played the Ocarina Again, Didn’t You!!": Catastrophe and the Aesthetics of Evil in Ocarina of Time Nathan Schmidt Chapter 8. A Link Across Adventures: Literacy’s Relevance to Time in The Legend of Zelda Series’ Mythopoeia Matthew Sautman Chapter 9. Haunted by Heroes: Mythology & Hauntology in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s MaskDamian AslingThe Legend of Pedagogy: Theory and PracticeChapter 10. The Hero of Time: The Legend of Zelda as Children’s LiteratureChamutal Noimann & Elliot H. SerkinChapter 11. Take Away the Sword: Teaching for Creativity and Communication with the Legend of Zelda in Art History David BoffaChapter 12. Regenerative Play and the Experience of the Sublime in The Legend of Zelda:Breath of the Wild Gerald Farca Alexander Lehner Victor Navarro-Remesal