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Event Website
https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-2023.htm
Start Date
8-6-2023 1:00 PM
End Date
8-6-2023 1:50 PM
Description
When talking about The Legend of Zelda, “underworld” can have a variety of definitions, from simple dungeons hidden beneath the ground to fully realized parallel dimensions. Since the first entry in the franchise, the subterranean dungeons have been where the player character, Link, learns new skills and battles colossal monsters, honing the player’s skills and advancing the narrative. While not as ubiquitous as dungeons, since A Link to the Past, Zelda games have often included travel to parallel worlds, whether those are parallel dimensions or alternate time periods, where the rules and mores of Hyrule have been upended creating truly hellish environments. This presentation will explore some different types of underworlds present in the Legend of Zelda franchise, including Majora’s Mask, the Arbiter’s Grounds and Twilight Realm of Twilight Princess, and the chasms of Tears of the Kingdom, and examine how these areas reflect larger themes of duality, hidden knowledge, and the power of myth and legend.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Modern Languages Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons
Through the Mirror Darkly: Link’s Journey to Hell and the Inversion of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda’s Underworlds
When talking about The Legend of Zelda, “underworld” can have a variety of definitions, from simple dungeons hidden beneath the ground to fully realized parallel dimensions. Since the first entry in the franchise, the subterranean dungeons have been where the player character, Link, learns new skills and battles colossal monsters, honing the player’s skills and advancing the narrative. While not as ubiquitous as dungeons, since A Link to the Past, Zelda games have often included travel to parallel worlds, whether those are parallel dimensions or alternate time periods, where the rules and mores of Hyrule have been upended creating truly hellish environments. This presentation will explore some different types of underworlds present in the Legend of Zelda franchise, including Majora’s Mask, the Arbiter’s Grounds and Twilight Realm of Twilight Princess, and the chasms of Tears of the Kingdom, and examine how these areas reflect larger themes of duality, hidden knowledge, and the power of myth and legend.
Comments
SESSION III
1:00 PM—1:50 Eastern
12:00 Noon—12:50 PM Central
11:00 AM—11:50 Mountain
10:00 AM—10:50 Pacific
5:00 PM—5:50 GMT