Heroes with a Hundred Names

Author Robert Penn Warren’s fiction captures centuries worth of mythology and folklore from all across the globe—from Hebrew, Norse, Roman and Caribbean mythology, to Arthurian legends. This work explores the inspirations and hidden heroes in his works, beginning with his first novel, Night Rider, and extending through his fifth, Band of Angels. The fascinating ways, both blatant and obscure, that Warren incorporates religious practices and ancient legends into his early works are revealed.

Leverett Butts teaches American literature at the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia. He lives in Carrollton, Georgia.

Leverett Butts
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 176
Bibliographic Info: bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8459-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4924-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi

Preface: In Praise of Professor Warren, or Why This Book Is the Way It Is 1

Chapter One. Robert Penn Warren, Literature, and Mythology 7

Chapter Two. Percival Munn and the Holy Grail: Night Rider and Arthurian Myth 14

Chapter Three. Wandering Jews and Spiritual Cains: Robert Penn Warren’s At Heaven’s Gate 34

Chapter Four. Twilight of the Boss: All the King’s Men and Norse Mythology 54

Chapter Five. When the Bough Breaks: The Golden Bough, World Enough and Time 77

Chapter Six. Folks Have to Believe in Something: Band of Angels and Voudoun 100

Chapter Seven. Warren and the Agrarian Myth 140

Works Cited 159

Index 167