Myth

The title itself can refer to several things at once. The idea of a myth suggests an imaginary story or an ancient legend. This immediately prepares the reader for the sense that the poem may deal with a specific myth. In this case, it turns out to be “Orpheus and Eurydice.” However, the poem also suggests that the idea that grieving can end is a myth, as the poem’s emotions are cyclical and return to the beginning due to the reversal of lines in the second half. Further still, Trethewey is examining the strange sensation of her mother being dead in reality while being alive in “dreams” (Lines 6, 13), creating an insecurity as to which state is actually a “myth.” Finally, there is the myth that the speaker could have done anything to stop the “dying” (Lines 1, 18) of the loved one if they had not been “asleep” (Lines 1, 18).

“Erebus” (Lines 4, 15) is the personification of primordial darkness, a figure born out of Chaos. However, this is also a word used in Greek mythology to identify a realm that exists between earth and Hades, a limbo where souls await their fate immediately after death.