muse A source of inspiration to a poet or other writer, usually represented as a female deity, and conventionally called upon for assistance in a poet's invocation . In ancient Greek religion, the muses were nine sister‐goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (the goddess of memory), who presided over various arts and some branches of learning.
Their cult was associated particularly with the Pierian Spring on Mount Olympus, with Mount Parnassus near Delphi, and with Mount Helicon in Boeotia. Their names and responsibilities are as follows: Calliope ( epic poetry); Clio (history); Erato ( lyric love poetry); Euterpe (flute music); Melpomene ( tragedy ); Polyhymnia ( hymns ); Terpsichore (choral dance and song); Thalia ( comedy ); and Urania (astronomy).
Later poets of the Renaissance , however, often referred to the women praised in their love poems as muses who inspired their verse; and in modern criticism the term has often been extended to any cause or principle underlying a writer's work.
How to cite this entry:
"muse" The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 3 November 2011
How to cite this entry:
"muse" The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 3 November 2011
