Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1996. [Vol. 3.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 23)

STUDIES - Zsolt K. Virágos: The American Brand of the Myth of Apocalypse

ZSOLT K. VIRÁGOS THE AMERICAN BRAND OF THE MYTH OF APOCALYPSE ... the prophetic voice, that cried To John in Patmos, "Write!" Write

/ and tell out this bloody tale; Record this dire eclipse, This Day of Wrath, this Endless Wail, This dread Apocalypse! —H. W. Longfellow, 'To William E. Channing" In a hypothetical list of the various satellites of the dominant clichés of American culture, the apocalyptic tradition would certainly occupy a prominent place. Indeed, it might not be an exaggeration to claim that the most viable myth bequeathed to the 20th century by previous American culture is the myth of apocalypse. Of course, we have to be staunch supporters of the idea of cultural continuity to make such a claim, for obviously the myth, or rather this Judeo-Christian mythic vision, was no American invention. Nonetheless, American culture has been the source and focus of a powerful apocalyptic vision. Beyond the fact that several major indigenous American religious 115