Scurvy of the soul

“The surprisng claim that The Fisher King makes and, I think, proves is that the old motifs of myth and romance work, move and persuade audiences who have no previous knowledge of them, because they are, if not true, then in a deep way needed: if they are not present in the imaginative diet, then you will get scurvy of the soul, and all the sitcoms in the world won’t cure you.”
–Tom Shippey, Times Literary Supplement, 11/22/1991