Tolkien's Intellectual LandscapeThe work of J.R.R. Tolkien has had a profound effect on contemporary fiction and filmmaking. Often disparaged by critics, Tolkien's fiction created a market for the "fantasy trilogy" and his academic work represents an innovative contribution to the field of philology. In the 20th century, his fiction bridged the gap between "learned" and "popular" readerships. Today the fantasy genre continues to grow--even as publishers cut back on creative fiction--moving energetically into film, gaming and online fan fiction. This book describes how Tolkien's imaginative landscape continues to entertain and inspire, drawing new generations to Middle-earth. |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 Tolkien as Scholar Narrator Stylist | 23 |
Externalizing the Internalized Quest | 67 |
3 The World of the Text and the Expanding Waste Land | 84 |
Beorhtnoth Aragorn and Arthur | 97 |
The Mortal and the Monstrous Body | 124 |
Orientalism and Occidentalism | 147 |
7 Good and Evil Choice and Control | 166 |
8 Teaching Tolkien and His World and Why He Matters | 181 |
Afterword Mechanized Landscape and Spiritual
LandscapeIn Retrospect | 200 |
Chapter Notes | 213 |
| 222 | |
| 227 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Aragorn Arthur audience Balrog battle Beowulf better Bilbo Bombadil Boromir characters Christian comes courage create creatures criticism culture death desire destruction dragon dwarves Eliot Elrond elves English epic epiphanies essay evil Excalibur experience fail fairy fairy-story fall fantasy fictional world film fractal Frodo Galadriel Gandalf Gawain Gollum Gondor Grail Green Knight Heart of Darkness Heart of Light hero heroic heroism hobbits hope horror human ideas influence intellectual landscape Isildur J. R. R. Tolkien king language leadership literary literature lives Lord LotR magic medieval Melkor Merlin Middle-earth modern monsters moral Mordor Morgoth motif myth narrative nature Norse notions Númenor one’s orcs perhaps plot poem potential problems quest readers remain resist Ring Saruman Sauron scholarship sense Shippey Shippey’s Shire Silmarillion Silmarils Sir Gawain spiritual stories texts theme Tolkien’s fiction Tolkien’s world traditional turn twentieth century Valar Volsungasaga Waste Land writers