|
Note:
Although Tolkien's literary works have, over the past few decades, attracted a considerable and varied body of criticism, much of this material is inaccessible, unreflective, and repetitive. Most criticism has concentrated on his sources and biographical influences, but such studies generally do not look beyond his interest in medieval literature. Nonetheless, Tolkien's writings have links and resonances with the whole of English literature from Old Norse traditions to contemporary literary thought. This book corrects a striking imbalance in Tolkien scholarship by placing his works within a larger literary context.
The volume ranges over the entire history of English literature, including oral narrative tradition, Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval romance, Renaissance poetics, 19th-century adventure stories, modern art, and contemporary fantasy. Each chapter is written by an expert contributor who demonstrates Tolkien's relation to an earlier literary movement and examines the literary resonances of his works from a variety of informed perspectives. By grounding Tolkien's writings within the larger canon of literature, the book argues that his works actually fall within the mainstream literary tradition.
(descrizione tratta dal sito della casa editrice)
Indice:
Introduction, by Daniel Timmons
Tolkien the Bard: His Tale Grew in the Telling, by C.W. Sullivan III
The Dragon-Lore of Middle-earth: Tolkien and Old English and Old Norse Tradition, by Jonathan Evans
J.R.R. Tolkien and the True Hero, by George Clark
Tolkien's Versecraft in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, by Geoffrey Russom
The Monsters Are Talismans and Transgressions: Tolkien and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Roger C. Schlobin
The Sins of the Middle-earth: Tolkien's Use of Medieval Allegory, by Charles W. Nelson
Is Tolkien a Renaissance Man? Sir Phillips Sidney's Defense of Poetry and J.R.R. Tolkien's On Fairy Stories, by Tanya Caroline Wood
Weaving Nets of Gloom: "Darkness Profound" in Tolkien and Milton, by Debbie Sly
Gagool and Gollum: Exemplars of Degeneration in King Solomon's Mines and The Hobbit, by William N. Rogers II and Michael R. Underwood
"Joy Beyond the Walls of the World": The Secondary World-Making of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, by David Sandner
Taking the Part of Trees: Eco-Conflict in Middle-earth, by Verlyn Flieger
Women Fantasists: In the Shadow of the Ring, by Faye Ringel
Loss Eternal in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, by W.A. Senior
Orcs, Wraiths, Wights: Tolkien's Images of Evil, by Tom Shippey
Bibliography
|
