Labyrinths and Mazes
A DELIGHTFUL air of romance and mystery surrounds the whole subject of Labyrinths and Mazes.
The hedge-maze, which is the only type with which most of us have a first-hand acquaintance, is generally felt to be a survival of a romantic age, even though we esteem its function as nothing higher than that of a playground for children. Many a tender intrigue has been woven around its dark yew alleys. Mr. Compton Mackenzie, for example, introduces it most effectively as a lovers’ rendezvous in “The Passionate Elopement,” and no doubt the readers of romantic literature will recall other instances of a like nature. The story of fair Rosamond’s Bower is one which will leap to the mind in this connection.
This type of maze alone is worth more than a passing thought, but it is far from being the only, or even the most interesting, development of the labyrinth idea.
What is the difference, it may be asked, between a maze and a labyrinth? The answer is, little or none. Some writers seem to prefer to apply the word “maze” to hedge-mazes only, using the word “labyrinth” to denote.