Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader

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At what stage in J.R.R. Tolkien's reading of other literatures and mythologies did he conceive of the fantastic mythology of Middle-earth that has become so deeply entrenched in contemporary culture? At what point did medieval epic and legend spark Tolkienian myth? The eighteen essays in Tolkien and the Invention of Myth examine the ancient Greek, Latin, Old Norse, Old English, and Finnish sources from which Tolkien appropriated the concepts, images, characterizations, contexts, and theories that inform his own fictional narratives The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Understanding his invented mythologies requires a rediscovery of those tales of larger-than-life gods and heroes found in northern myths. A well-rounded and essential reader for any Tolkien lover, the book includes several essays that provide background and context, explaining Tolkien's literary aesthetic and his interest in folklore, his love of philology, and the philosophical and religious underpinnings of his narratives. Among the contributors are well-known medievalists and Tolkien scholars Marjorie Burns, Michael Drout, Verlyn Flieger, David Lyle Jeffrey, Tom Shippey, and Richard West. Tolkien and the Invention of Myth identifies the various medieval mythologies woven into the elaborate tapestry of Tolkien's work, making it a vital contribution to the study of one of the twentieth century's most influential authors. Contents: Tolkien and the rediscovery of myth / Michaela Baltasar -- Light from an invisible lamp : natural religion in the Lord of the Rings / Catherine Madsen -- Creating and re-creating worlds with words : the religion and the magic of language in the Lord of the Rings / Mary E. Zimmer -- Tolkien as philologist / David Lyle Jeffrey -- Saving the myths : the re-creation of mythology in Plato and Tolkien / Gergely Nagy -- Myth, late Roman history, and multiculturalism in Tolkien's Middle-Earth / Sandra Ballif Straubhaar -- From catastrophe to eucatastrophe : J.R.R. Tolkien's transformation of Ovid's Mythic Pyramus and Thisbe into Beren and Lúthien / Jen Stevens -- Providence, fate, and chance : Boethian philosophy in the Lord of the Rings / Kathleen E. Dubs -- Tolkien and the appeal of the pagan : Edda and Kalevala / Tom Shippey -- Norse and Christian gods : the integrative theology of J.R.R. Tolkien / Marjorie J. Burns -- The twilight of the elves : Ragnarök and the end of the Third Age / Andy Dimond -- Gathered round northern fires : the imaginative impact of the Kolbítar / Andrew Lazo -- A mythology for Anglo-Saxon England / Michael D.C. Drout -- Oaths and oathbreaking : analogues of Old English Comitatus in Tolkien's myth / John R. Holmes -- On the borders of old stories : enacting the past in Beowulf and the Lord of the Rings / Alexandra Bolintineanu -- A mythology for Finland : Elias Lönrott and J.R.R. Tolkien as mythmakers / Verlyn Flieger -- Setting the rocket off in story : the Kalevala as the germ of Tolkien's legendarium / Richard C. West -- J.R.R. Tolkien and the Kalevala : some thoughts on the Finnish origins of Tom Bombadil and Treebeard / David Elton Gay. edited by Jane Chance   źródło opisu: The University Press of Kentucky, 2004 źródło okładki: zdjęcie autorskie