grammar, The White Goddess, myth-making. Every powerful emotion has its own myth-making tendency.

“Every powerful emotion has its own myth-making tendency. When the emotion is peculiar to an individual, he is considered more or less mad if he gives credence to such myths as he has invented. But when an emotion is collective, as in war or disease, there are few to correct the myths that naturally arise. Consequently in all times of great collective excitement unfounded rumors obtain wide credence. Since these myths lack evidence, this myth-making faculty is often allied with cruelty and anger. Such myths give an excuse for the infliction of pain, and the unfounded belief in them is evidence of the unconscious desire to find some victim to persecute.“

— Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950), Ch. XII: An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish, p. 81

The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth is a book-length essay upon the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, based on earlier articles published in Wales, corrected, revised and enlarged editions appeared in 1948, 1952 and 1961. The White Goddess represents an approach to the study of mythology from a decidedly creative and idiosyncratic perspective. Graves proposes the existence of a European deity, the "White Goddess of Birth, Love and Death," inspired and represented by the phases of the moon, who lies behind the faces of the diverse goddesses of various European mythologies.

Graves argues that "true" or "pure" poetry is inextricably linked with the ancient cult-ritual of his proposed White Goddess and of her son. His conclusions come from his own conjectures about how early religions developed, as there is no historical evidence that the "White Goddess" as he describes her ever figured in any actual belief system.

The White Goddess
The White Goddess cover (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997).
Author	Robert Graves
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Mythology, Poetry
Publication date	1948