J. R. R. Tolkien Research Papers (original) (raw)

‘Éowyn, Aragorn and the Hidden Dangers of Drink.’ In Inklings 17, Jahrbuch für Literatur und Ästhetik. Moers: Brendow, 217-225. Summary: My paper discusses Tolkien’s depiction of the ‘wassail’ scene(s) in The Lord of the Rings, its... more

‘Éowyn, Aragorn and the Hidden Dangers of Drink.’ In Inklings 17, Jahrbuch für Literatur und Ästhetik. Moers: Brendow, 217-225.
Summary: My paper discusses Tolkien’s depiction of the ‘wassail’ scene(s) in The Lord of the Rings, its parallels and analogues in Beowulf and other medieval texts, and the possible implications for an interpretation of the relationship between Éowyn and Aragorn. I argue that the existence of those parallels and analogues in medieval texts constitutes an instance of ‘covert depth’ in Tolkien’s work. This dimension of ‘covert depth’ goes beyond the established limits of Shippey’s ‘depth’ since it can only be appreciated if the reader is acquainted with the relevant parallel passages.

This article shows the relationship between Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum" (History of the Danes) (Saxo was a Danish historian and mythographer who composed a Latin work on the legendary past of Denmark as well as Scandinavian... more

This article shows the relationship between Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum" (History of the Danes) (Saxo was a Danish historian and mythographer who composed a Latin work on the legendary past of Denmark as well as Scandinavian mythology) and J.R.R. Tolkien, mainly when he was a student of ancient language and literature.

Explorations of Tolkien's latent theology abound, but very little focused scholarship proposes to discuss how Tolkien's legendari-um portrays an understanding of the Holy Spirit, especially in light of Tolkien's Roman Catholicism. This... more

Explorations of Tolkien's latent theology abound, but very little focused scholarship proposes to discuss how Tolkien's legendari-um portrays an understanding of the Holy Spirit, especially in light of Tolkien's Roman Catholicism. This essay explores three major features of Tolkien's work that provide insight into this ghostly person of the Trinity. The Silmarillion provides detailed insight as to the exact identity of the " Flame Imperishable, " while its characters demonstrate the indwelling of this Flame. St. Paul explains the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his first letter to the Corinthians and Tolkien seems to mimic many of these gifts in the characters of the nine members of the Fellowship. Lastly, the Great Eagles represent the workings of the Holy Spirit, both as servants of Manwë and as agents of eucatastrophe.

Published on BEYOND BREE APRILA 2019 pp.1-2

Mythlore 90 (23:4) (2002): 22-35.

Figure de la répétition chez Tolkien

This is an outstanding book, one that will prove as significant a turning point in the study of women in Tolkien's life and writing as Jason Fisher's Tolkien and the study of his sources has proved to be in the question of the value and... more

This is an outstanding book, one that will prove as significant a turning point in the study of women in Tolkien's life and writing as Jason Fisher's Tolkien and the study of his sources has proved to be in the question of the value and necessity of source studies. In Perilous and Fair, the editors have drawn together fourteen essays; seven are described as classic and have been reprinted from earlier publications, in order to draw together seminal ideas and scholarship on the topic. Seven are new and are published here for the first time. 'Central to these articles is a consistent recognition that, although Tolkien's fiction undeniably contains many more male than female character, women fulfil essential, rather than merely supportive, roles in Middle-earth and in his life.' (3) The first of the new articles is placed at the beginning of the volume; Robin Anne Reid's 'The history of Scholarship on female Characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium: a Feminist Bibliographic Essay.' This is an invaluable survey and assessment of the situation to date, and shows the increase in the number of works focusing on the issue of the female in Tolkien (a number certain to increase as this book provides scholars with insight and information.)

Resenha crítica do livro de "J.R.R. Tolkien e C.S. Lewis: O dom da amizade", de Colin Duriez

Niniejsza praca ma na celu przedstawienie teorii mitotwórczej J. R. R. Tolkiena, z perspektywy jej wymiaru duchowego. Od czasów antycznych teorie, tudzież filozofie, opierały się na myśleniu abstrakcyjnym i miały za zadanie wyjaśnienie... more

Niniejsza praca ma na celu przedstawienie teorii mitotwórczej J. R. R. Tolkiena, z perspektywy jej wymiaru duchowego. Od czasów antycznych teorie, tudzież filozofie, opierały się na myśleniu abstrakcyjnym i miały za zadanie wyjaśnienie ówczesnemu człowiekowi otaczającej go rzeczywistości. Nie inaczej było z Tolkienowską teorią, na potrzebę której ukuł swój termin Mitopoeia. „Duchowy wymiar Tolkienowskiej Teorii Mitotwórczej” – tłumacząc tytuł tej pracy na język Polski – przekłada się na wiele sfer życia Tolkiena. Pierwsza z tych płaszczyzn, to przypisywany mu przez niektórych krytyków program filozoficzny. Na tym wymiarze skupia się pierwszy rozdział tej pracy: „The Philosophical Disenchantment.” Jednak jak sugeruje tytuł, stanowi on zaledwie tło wszelkich dalszych poszukiwań, gdyż oferuje badaczom Tolkienowskiej myśli jedynie jej racjonalizację i demitologizację. Życiowa pasja Tolkiena, filologia komparatywna, daje wystarczające zrozumienie jego fenomenu, a przynajmniej zdaniem kilku krytyków. Niezaprzeczalnie stanowiła ona inspirację, a zarazem była narzędziem, którego Tolkien użył podług swej ogromnej wiedzy z zakresu językoznawstwa. Pomimo, iż w tej pracy „Comparative Philology” jest omawiana w drugiej kolejności, to właśnie ta dyscyplina była źródłem znajomości filozofii u Tolkiena. Podążając krokami Tolkieniany nie można jednak na tym poprzestać. Trzeci wymiar, jakże metafizyczny i filozoficzny w swych założeniach i implikacjach to odkrycie Owena Barfielda, znajomego Tolkiena. Barfield odkrył Teorię „Jedności Semantycznej,” co Tolkienowi przyszło łatwo przyjąć do wiadomości: język jako narzędzie może również być transcendentny, ze względu na swe początki. Dla Tolkiena była to jedna z tych rzeczy, która pozwoliła mu uwierzyć w smoki. „Philological Philosophy: Let There Be Dragons” – jest zatem łącznikiem między dwoma światami. Jednakże Tolkien nie był byle fantastą, oderwanym od ziemi. Teoria Barfielda, obudziła w nim nadzieję. Pomimo to, tak jak każdy rozsądny i racjonalny człowiek Tolkien musiał dowiedzieć się, „czy to prawda.” Potrzebował czegoś, aby idee odnieść do nie tyle rzeczywistego doświadczenia, ile prawdy. Prawda, bowiem wyzwala. Mimo nieustannego negowania jego wiary, to właśnie ona umożliwiła mu dalsze rozważanie tych teorii. I nie da się inaczej wytłumaczyć jego mitotwórstwa, jak przez uznanie jego wiary. Miłości do Boga, która była tak głęboka, że aż sięgała wiedzy teologicznej. Tego, między innymi, tyczy ostatni rozdział tej pracy: „Myth Becomes Truth.”
Liczba stron: 51

Innovations are produced by entrepreneurs’ imaginations. To turn imagined ideas into realized innovations, entrepreneurs must attract the resources necessary to create the innovations they envision. Resource acquisition involves crafting... more

Innovations are produced by entrepreneurs’ imaginations. To turn imagined ideas into realized innovations, entrepreneurs must attract the resources necessary to create the innovations they envision. Resource acquisition involves crafting and communicating compelling narratives that persuade stakeholders to provide resources. However, there is not a clearly articulated theory linking entrepreneurial imagination, narratives, and the production of innovations. To construct such a theory, this paper extends work on narratives in literary theory and, specifically, Tolkien’s theory of narrative fantasy. It is proposed that entrepreneurs’ narratives about innovations are, initially, “fantasies” because they describe possible worlds in which the imagined innovations exist. As fantasies, the characteristics of persuasive fantasy narratives, such as the degree to which the narratives achieve an inner consistency of reality and suspend audiences’ disbelief, influence entrepreneurs’ ability to convince stakeholders about the viability of imagined innovations. The proposed theory contributes to entrepreneurship scholarship by developing a process model that articulates how entrepreneurs’ imaginations manifest in their narratives, which, in turn, influence the realization of innovations. The theory generates concrete implications for entrepreneurs and suggests that as the novelty of an imagined innovation increases, it becomes more critical for entrepreneurs to construct compelling narratives to describe the innovation. Thus, entrepreneurs and scholars should be attentive to the role narratives play in moving beyond the idea phase of entrepreneurship and bridging imagination and innovation.

In fantasy literature, the setting is as important to the story as are character and plot. This article demonstrates how topofocal (place-focused) perspectives yield valuable insights into various fantasy texts. The examples include... more

In fantasy literature, the setting is as important to the story as are character and plot. This article demonstrates how topofocal (place-focused) perspectives yield valuable insights into various fantasy texts. The examples include discussions on how the nature/culture relationship is tied to the ideological centre in Charles de Lint’s Newford stories; how a careful examination of Sauron’s land in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings reveals how the text views the nature of evil; and how the structure of the land develops along with the stories in the Mythago Wood novels by Robert Holdstock. In a genre where there are no limits to the shape a setting can take, the central question must be: Why is it shaped the way it is?

Audiences for blockbuster event-film sequels and adaptations often formulate highly developed expectations, motivations, understandings and opinions well before the films are released. A range of intertextual and paratextual influences... more

Audiences for blockbuster event-film sequels and adaptations often formulate highly developed expectations, motivations, understandings and opinions well before the films are released. A range of intertextual and paratextual influences inform these audience prefigurations, and are believed to frame subsequent audience engagement and response. In our study of prefigurative engagements with Peter Jackson's 2012 film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we used Q methodology to identify five distinct subjective orientations within the film's global audience. As this paper illustrates, each group privileges a different set of extratextual referents - notably J.R.R. Tolkien's original novels, Peter Jackson's The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, highly localised political debates relating to the film's production, and the previous associations of the film's various stars. These interpretive frames, we suggest, competed for ascendancy within public and private discour...

What can be done and what is being done to alter the depictions of fat characters as evil, negligible or comedic in fantasy fiction? Despite being a genre in which almost anything is possible, fantasy fiction is still yet to embrace fat... more

What can be done and what is being done to alter the depictions of fat characters as evil, negligible or comedic in fantasy fiction? Despite being a genre in which almost anything is possible, fantasy fiction is still yet to embrace fat protagonists or characters that have evolved from anything other than a number of “fat tropes” which have existed for decades, trailing far behind other genres in term of diversity. From classic high fantasy like, “The Lord of the Rings,” in which hero Frodo is noted for being especially slender when compared to other members of his traditionally rotund species, to modern series such as, “Harry Potter,” in which larger characters are portrayed a either unsympathetic bullies or incapable cowards, fat characters are demoted to the role of amusing side-kick or an even more minor character, normally with a deep-seated loathing or unease about their weight. Characters with the tenacity to feel comfortable in their own bodies are relegated to the role of antagonist or a fetishistic love interest. In the rare cases that a fat character makes it as a protagonist, such as in Robin Hobb’s “Soldier Son Trilogy,” the characters are universally unhappy with their size and their weight loss is used as a short cut to character development. With YA fantasy a burgeoning genre representing fat people as relatable and realistic protagonists in a fantasy setting becomes of greater import as those books reach a wider and more impressionable audience. Why are so few novels picking up this slack?

Tutti i personaggi principali della saga di Harry Potter sono condizionati in modo decisivo dalle relazioni familiari che hanno vissuto: Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Draco... ma anche Dumbledore/Silente e perfino Voldemort. Una lettura che... more

Tutti i personaggi principali della saga di Harry Potter sono condizionati in modo decisivo dalle relazioni familiari che hanno vissuto: Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Draco... ma anche Dumbledore/Silente e perfino Voldemort. Una lettura che mette in luce questo aspetto della creazione letteraria della Rowling.

Mount Dolmed (from Sindarin dol + med “wet head”) rose in the First Age above an important pass through the Blue Mountains, between Beleriand and Eriador. The great dwarven cities of Gabilgathol [Nogrod in Sindarin] and Tumunzahar... more

Mount Dolmed (from Sindarin dol + med “wet head”) rose in the First Age above an important pass through the Blue Mountains, between Beleriand and Eriador. The great dwarven cities of Gabilgathol [Nogrod in Sindarin] and Tumunzahar [Belegost] were built in its vicinity, to the southeast and northeast respectively. The Blue Mountains [Ered Luin] were partially destroyed during the War of Wrath, causing – according to some – the disappearance of Mount Dolmed. But something different may have occurred...

A sermon to mark the 750th anniversary of Merton College Oxford, preached in the college chapel on Sunday 26 October 2014, and broadcast live on BBC Radio 4.

A short story inspired by J. J. R. Tolkien's famous work

The image of an enchanted forest is prominent in many tales. It’s no wonder that a lot of literary characters have to encounter such a place in their travels. Dark mysterious woods are home of magic and the unknown. To enter a forest is... more

The image of an enchanted forest is prominent in many tales. It’s no wonder that a lot of literary characters have to encounter such a place in their travels. Dark mysterious woods are home of magic and the unknown. To enter a forest is to go into the realm of Faerie, which can be as dangerous as it can be enlightening.

Dragons have always been present in the imaginary of mankind, since ancient myths about the creation of the world. The figure of the dragon is rooted in every culture, be it the evil serpent symbol of the devil typical of Western,... more

Dragons have always been present in the imaginary of mankind, since ancient myths about the creation of the world. The figure of the dragon is rooted in every culture, be it the evil serpent symbol of the devil typical of Western, Christian culture, or the benevolent creature that is bringer of rain in the Eastern tradition. Perhaps because of their importance in all the cultures of the world, dragons have also played a consequential role in fantasy literature, and indeed since J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937), this creature has been a recurrent character in many works of the genre.
In this dissertation, the role of the dragon will be analyzed, especially in postwar fantasy fiction. More specifically, it will be shown how this mythical creature passed from being considered no more than a beast to be slain to a real icon of this literary genre. If in the ancient Western narratives, indeed, the dragon was regarded as a representation of chaos to be annihilated by a god or hero in order to restore a social balance previously subverted (Lionarons 1998), nowadays it is not necessarily seen as an enemy, but also as an advisor, an ally or even an inseparable companion for the main character of a novel.
We will focus mainly on some literary works that can serve as examples of such a transition, but we shall start by briefly analyzing the literary dragons in Beowulf and The Saga of the Volsungs, for they contributed enormously in shaping Tolkien’s Smaug: a dragon that, in turn, would have a great influence on all subsequent fantasies. Then we shall examine the role of dragons in Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea sequence (1968-2001), noting how in her later novels they become protectors of order and no more agents of chaos. We will continue by examining the bond between dragons and their riders in Anne McCaffrey’s The Dragonriders of Pern series (1967-2012), the dragons depicted in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series (1983-2015) – seen as imaginary beasts that can acquire shape and substance only if we truly believe in them – and finally their role in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (1996 ff.).
During our survey, we will compare the role of dragons to that of other fantasy creatures who underwent a similar evolution in the same period, such as the werewolf and the vampire, and we shall notice how all these literary monsters are nothing but different projections of our selves (Du Coudray 2006, Browning and Picart 2009). In conclusion, we shall see how in contemporary fantasy dragons can play at least five different roles: ‘the evil enemy to be slain or subjugated’; ‘the wise warden of order’; ‘the shapeshifter’; ‘the inseparable ally and life-long friend’; and finally ‘the wild but tameable beast’.
We shall focus mainly on literary works, but we will also make some references to other media, such as the main representations of dragon in cinema and role-playing games (RPGs).

Il volume raccoglie una serie di conversazioni con voci prestigiose della cultura contemporanea che rileggono le passioni letterarie del Cardinale. «[…] alle mie Avventure, specchio luminoso delle esigenze più profonde dell’umanità, si... more

Il volume raccoglie una serie di conversazioni con voci prestigiose della cultura contemporanea che rileggono le passioni letterarie del Cardinale.
«[…] alle mie Avventure, specchio luminoso delle esigenze più profonde
dell’umanità, si affiancano gli Inni di sant’Ambrogio, espressione più alta di una fede che diviene canto del Mistero, e ancora: Dante con la sua opera divina e immortale, la genuina schiettezza di Giovannino Guareschi, Riccardo Bacchelli con la sua umanissima pietas, la paradossale arguzia di Gilbert Keith Chesterton e l’atmosfera hobbit della Terra di Mezzo di John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, per arrivare infine alle singolari e drammatiche profezie di Vladimir Sergeevicˇ Solov’ëv. E non finisce qui: c’è anche una gustosa conversazione con Giacomo Poretti sul proverbiale umorismo del Cardinale» (dalla Presentazione di Pinocchio).

This paper examines Peter Jackson's re-visioning of J.R.R. Tolkien's Aragorn, using as its departure point Lawrence and Jewett's analysis of the distinguishing features of the American superhero monomyth in The Myth of the American... more

This paper examines Peter Jackson's re-visioning of J.R.R. Tolkien's Aragorn, using as its departure point Lawrence and Jewett's analysis of the distinguishing features of the American superhero monomyth in The Myth of the American Superhero, and contrasting it with the view of Tolkien's future king as the epic hero set forth in Flieger's classic article "Frodo and Aragorn: The concept of the hero."

The phenomenon of The Lord of the Rings began to be popular in 2002, mainly for its movie version, directed by Peter Jackson. Behind the success, however; is the master of writing, J.R.R Tolkien, who wrote this epic fantasy in 1954. He... more

The phenomenon of The Lord of the Rings began to be popular in 2002, mainly for its movie version, directed by Peter Jackson. Behind the success, however; is the master of writing, J.R.R Tolkien, who wrote this epic fantasy in 1954. He created the world so monumental, that it can be compared to the epic of Homer´s Iliad and Odyssey with its own mythology and history. It is a separated universe that has its own theology, myths and geography, it is full of mystical creatures, different races, many languages and dynamical creatures. In one of his essays, On the Fairy-Stories, Tolkien stated: “From my childhood, the misery of my own lovely country had always worried me, it didn’t have any fables, not of the quality, which I saw in the legend of other countries. There were the Greek, Celtic, Roman, Finnish, Scandinavian but not the English ones.” In his later writings he extended his words: “Once I had the intention to put together a work with the connected fables, from the cosmological ones to the fairy-tale stories, which I could dedicated to England, my country.” (Tolkien according to Day 1995: 5). We can assume that The Lord of the Rings is an integral work and it is rich for the symbols that can be interpreted from the religious perspective. In this essay I would like to focus on the character of Gandalf and how he can be viewed from the point of Christianity.

Sobre a digitalização desta obra: Esta obra foi digitalizada para proporcionar de maneira totalmente gratuita o benefício de sua leitura àqueles que não podem comprá-la ou àqueles que necessitam de meios eletrônicos para leitura. Dessa... more

Sobre a digitalização desta obra: Esta obra foi digitalizada para proporcionar de maneira totalmente gratuita o benefício de sua leitura àqueles que não podem comprá-la ou àqueles que necessitam de meios eletrônicos para leitura. Dessa forma, a venda deste e-book ou mesmo a sua troca por qualquer contraprestação é totalmente condenável em qualquer circunstância. A generosidade é a marca da distribuição, portanto: Distribua este livro livremente! Se você tirar algum proveito desta obra, considere seriamente a possibilidade de adquirir o original. Incentive o autor e a publicação de novas obras! By Cage & Yuna Visite nossa biblioteca! Centenas de obras grátis a um clique!

Perilous and Fair: Women in J. R. R. Tolkien's Work and Life, the newest title from Mythopoeic Press has been published. Edited by Mythlore editor Janet Brennan Croft and MythPress editor Leslie A. Donovan, this collection contains seven... more

Perilous and Fair: Women in J. R. R. Tolkien's Work and Life, the newest title from Mythopoeic Press has been published. Edited by Mythlore editor Janet Brennan Croft and MythPress editor Leslie A. Donovan, this collection contains seven articles first published between 1984 and 2007 (many in Mythlore) as well as seven brand new articles the topic. Among others, new articles cover such topics as Tolkien's support of women in higher education, relationships between The Lord of the Rings and Victorian boys' books, and critical response of women readers through fan fiction. Other articles, both new and classic, examine specific female characters, including Nienna, Éowyn, Lúthien, and Galadriel. Through this collection, the editors and authors aim to remedy perceptions that Tolkien has nothing useful or modern to say about women and to recognize that women enact essential, rather than merely supportive, roles in Tolkien’s Middle-earth fiction and in his life.
Cami D. Agan, “Lúthien Tinúviel and Bodily Desire in the Lay of Leithian”
Edith L. Crowe, “Power in Arda: Sources, Uses, and Misuses”
Leslie A. Donovan, “The Valkyrie Reflex in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Galadriel, Shelob, Éowyn, and Arwen”
Nancy Enright, “Tolkien's Females and the Defining of Power”
Romuald I. Lakowski, “The Fall and Repentance of Galadriel”
Kristine Larsen, “The Power of Pity and Tears: The Evolution of Nienna in the Legendarium”
Phoebe C. Linton, “Speech and Silence in The Lord of the Rings: Medieval Romance and the Transitions of Éowyn”
Una McCormack, “Finding Ourselves in the (Un)Mapped Lands: Women's Reparative Readings of The Lord of the Rings”
John D. Rateliff, “The Missing Women: J. R. R. Tolkien's Lifelong Support for Women's Higher Education”
Melanie A. Rawls, “The Feminine Principle in Tolkien”
Robin Anne Reid, ”The History of Scholarship on Female Characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium: A Feminist Bibliographic Essay”
Sharin Schroeder, “She-who-must-not-be-ignored: Gender and Genre in The Lord of the Rings and the Victorian Boys' Book”
Melissa A. Smith, “At Home and Abroad: Éowyn’s Two-fold Figuring as War Bride in The Lord of the Rings”
Maureen Thum, “Hidden in Plain View: Strategizing Unconventionality in Shakespeare’s and Tolkien’s Portraits of Women”

[Full presentation available for download in English and French] Issu de l’imagination féconde de J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), le monde merveilleux de la Terre du Milieu n’a cessé de charmer les lecteurs du Seigneur des Anneaux, de... more

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies have enshrined Tolkien’s work in a format that for future generations may likely become their first, if not the sole exposure to Tolkien’s world. This essay examines the three... more

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies have enshrined Tolkien’s work in a format that for future generations may likely become their first, if not the sole exposure to Tolkien’s world. This essay examines the three The Hobbit films, arguing that Jackson’s adaptation jettisons the criteria of truth-of-correspondence and truth-of-coherence in favor of spectacle, thereby inevitably transforming how Tolkien’s novel will be (mis)remembered and (re)interpreted. Jackson’s version is explored as a swerve informed by the director’s predilection for a blend of horror and the comico-nonsensical as well as by his fascination with computer game aesthetics. The bloated trilogy is discussed as a beautiful disaster with serious long-term consequences for Tolkien’s book and as a missed chance to reimagine The Hobbit as a global and multicultural story.

The books of J.R.R. Tolkien contain multiple Characters, Places and Plots that remind the reader of Old Norse Poetry. This essay gives a short and incomplete overview on the most obvious elements.