Imagining and reimagining a mythopoeic national identity: telling and retelling the Singapore story

Abstract

This article examines the evolving dynamics of Singapore's national identity, which transitioned from a third-world colonial outpost to a global economic power. It engages with the poetry of Edwin Thumboo, whose life runs parallel to the story of the nation. Using the premodern and the modern constructed myths, the poet imagines and reimagines a mythopoeic national identity for a multicultural city-state. The paper argues that poets, who bear the responsibility and commitment to nation-building, often explore the ideological power of myths for nation-building. The paper adopts the methodology of qualitative thematic coding and uses the critical lens of the ideological power of myths.