Death in Venice has occasioned numerous essays by critics exploring its thematic and stylistic richness, and is even more popular today than it was in 1912 when it was published. In "Myth Plus Psychology," an essay appearing in Germanic Review, André von Gronicka examines the structural "ingredients" of Mann's formula for his novella. In detailing how myth and psychology inform the work, von Gronicka expands upon conventional definitions of myth, arguing that it "encompasses legend, history, and the literary traditions of the more recent past." This allows him greater freedom to show how mythic elements, apart from Greek stories and characters, operate in the story.

Manfred Dierks also seeks to pin down Mann's use of myth, by making connections between Death in Venice and two texts that heavily influenced Mann: Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy and Euripides's The Bacchae. In his essay, "Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy...