--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Myths are, in fact...neither primitive…" description: "\"Myths are, in fact...neither primitive nor untrue. They are, rather, a kind of poetry that helps us make sense of the world and our place in it.\" — Ste..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stephen-h-furrer-279677_myth_myths-are-in-fact-neither-primitive-nor_163045.jpg" --- # Myths are, in fact...neither primitive nor untrue. They… ![“Myths are, in fact...neither primitive nor untrue. They are, rather, a kind of poetry that helps us make sense of the world and our place in it.” quote by Stephen H. Furrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stephen-h-furrer-279677_myth_myths-are-in-fact-neither-primitive-nor_163045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stephen-h-furrer-279677_myth_myths-are-in-fact-neither-primitive-nor_163045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/stephen-h-furrer-279677_myth_myths-are-in-fact-neither-primitive-nor_163045.jpg) > “Myths are, in fact...neither primitive nor untrue. They are, rather, a kind of poetry that helps us make sense of the world and our place in it.” Stephen H. Furrer ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Myths are poetic tools that help us understand the world, not literal truths. **In simple terms:** Myths are poetic, not factual. Key Takeaway Use myth to explore meaning. Themes myth poetry storytelling spirituality meaning Mood contemplative inspired Type Myth:1 Mythology:1 Myths:1 Poetry:1 Religion:0 Spirituality:1 Storytelling:1 Untrue:0 Myths Fact:0 Poetry Helps:0 Primitive Untrue:0 When to use this quote - education - religious studies - creative arts Key Concepts symbolic interpretation cultural narratives existential inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What does myth reveal about culture? - How can poetry aid understanding? A Different Perspective Myths can be misused to justify falsehoods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Myths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myths/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [I'm always interested in debunking myths if they are untrue. But it's also important to identify myths and how they function, what value they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-m-always-interested-in-debunking-myths-if-they-are-untrue-but-it-s/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [I feel deep gratitude for the life poetry has allowed me to live. I know the life I could have lived without it. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/i-feel-deep-gratitude-for-the-life-poetry-has-allowed-me-to-live-i/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusef-komunyakaa/poetry-helps-me-understand-who-i-am-it-helps-me-understand-the-world/) [Yusef Komunyakaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusef-komunyakaa/) > [Writing poetry helps me to write my fiction; each thing helps the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/writing-poetry-helps-me-to-write-my-fiction-each-thing-helps-the-other/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Poetry helps my soul escape its encasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/poetry-helps-my-soul-escape-its-encasement/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I think of everything that I want to say and then I think of the way that I can say it most precisely. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-frost/i-think-of-everything-that-i-want-to-say-and-then-i-think-of-the-way/) Helen Frost > [I find it very hard to talk about my relationships, whether it's a girlfriend, sister or just a friend... I can't bring myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-kapoor/i-find-it-very-hard-to-talk-about-my-relationships-whether-it-s-a/) [Kunal Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-kapoor/) > [I'm a failed poet. Reading poetry helps me to see the world differently, and I try to infuse my prose with figurative language, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-m-a-failed-poet-reading-poetry-helps-me-to-see-the-world/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Poetry helps heal wounds. Makes them tangible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-quintero/poetry-helps-heal-wounds-makes-them-tangible/) [Isabel Quintero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-quintero/) > [One does not read a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks with hopes that it will grant him a career in engineering; he does so because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/one-does-not-read-a-poem-by-gwendolyn-brooks-with-hopes-that-it-will/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [“Well, that's history for you, folks. Unfair, untrue and for the most part written by folk who weren't even there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-m-harris/well-that-s-history-for-you-folks-unfair-untrue-and-for-the-most-part/) Joanne M. Harris > [The mythology about the UN is absolutely breathtaking. People believe it costs a great deal of money to the United States. Completely untrue: it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-urquhart/the-mythology-about-the-un-is-absolutely-breathtaking-people-believe/) Brian Urquhart > [“The belief that myths are somehow less true than the symbolic dream we call 'reality' may be the greatest myth of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-micha-el-leventhal/the-belief-that-myths-are-somehow-less-true-than-the-symbolic-dream/) [Eric Micha'el Leventhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-micha-el-leventhal/) > [I wish, to be honest, that there were more myths about me. I wish I was more of a mythical person, and that then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/i-wish-to-be-honest-that-there-were-more-myths-about-me-i-wish-i-was/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/all-my-stories-are-like-the-greek-and-roman-myths-and-the-egyptian/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More Myth quotes > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-supernatural-elements-in-stories/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > ['Sex and The City' was made to correct the myth that if you were single at a certain age, you were a leper. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-patrick-king/sex-and-the-city-was-made-to-correct-the-myth-that-if-you-were-single/) [Michael Patrick King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-patrick-king/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“Believe reality is what you were taught was myth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-mcgirr/believe-reality-is-what-you-were-taught-was-myth/) [Nicholas A. McGirr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-mcgirr/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“I argue that the Jesus of the Gospels is essentially a myth. The Gospels are largely fiction. They were created around the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-elleg-rd/i-argue-that-the-jesus-of-the-gospels-is-essentially-a-myth-the/) Alvar Ellegård > [Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wilson/those-who-claim-absolutism-is-merely-a-myth-are-right-that-it-has/) Peter Wilson > [I think the older you get, you start to break down the myth and you get to the dirt of it - and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-malone/i-think-the-older-you-get-you-start-to-break-down-the-myth-and-you/) [Jena Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jena-malone/) > [“And we cannot keep our balance. Myth gives way to Reason. Revelation to Orthodoxy. We must dance or go mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cheetham/and-we-cannot-keep-our-balance-myth-gives-way-to-reason-revelation-to/) Tom Cheetham > [Canada is a myth people made up to entertain children, like the Tooth Fairy. There’s no such place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/canada-is-a-myth-people-made-up-to-entertain-children-like-the-tooth/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [Contrary to a common myth, while there are general guidelines, there is no exact 'right' way to run ... I am amazed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/contrary-to-a-common-myth-while-there-are-general-guidelines-there-is/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) [Browse all 2,141 Myth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Myths are, in fact...neither primitive nor untrue. They are, rather, a kind of poetry that helps us make sense of the world and our place in it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen H. 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