The story of The Hobbit can be utilised to develop the concept of the Hero’s Journey, a persistent trope in oral and recorded literature and an archetype for virtually all human experience.
Tolkien’s The Hobbit: Bilbo’s Quest for Identity and Maturity
December 11, 2013 By
Notwithstanding the fact that The Hobbit was generally relegated to children literature, its individual layers should be scrutinised more profoundly because it may help the understanding of the human psyche.
Doing a PhD in Middle-earth
December 10, 2013 By
In this paper, I show how The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien can be viewed as an extended allegory for any challenging and arduous human endeavour, and in particular for tackling and completing a PhD.
The Bones in the Soup: The Anglo-Saxon Flavour of Tolkien’s The Hobbit
December 9, 2013 By
By reading The Hobbit from an Anglo-Saxonist point of view, we not only learn more about what inspired Tolkien to compose his narrative, we can also highlight the enduring value of studying his original sources.
If the name fits: names in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fiction
June 14, 2013 By
The nomenclature within Tolkien’s novels is very carefully done, taking into consideration attributes such as etymology, symbolism, and onomatopoeia. In some instances the author has drawn from Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse, but most of his creations emerged from his own invented languages Quenya and Sindarin, the two main tongues spoken by elves.
The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien released today
May 23, 2013 By
The poem, using Old English alliterative meter and written in modern English recounts how Arthur was a British military leader fighting the Saxon invasion, and includes characters such as Guinevere, Lancelot and Mordred.
Androgynes, Crossdressers, and Rebel Queens: Modern Representations of Medieval Women Warriors from Tolkien to Martin
May 15, 2013 By
This was another stellar paper given at the Tales after Tolkien session. It was an intriguing look at the women of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and how each author portrays the mother and warrior characters of Galadriel/Cersi/Daenerys and Eowyn/Arya/Brienne. The paper examined the differences and problems posed by the portrayal of women in theses fantasy novels.
The Meaning of the Middle Ages: Fans, Authors, and Industry
May 15, 2013 By
This was a very enjoyable paper given on the topic of medievalism and the predominance of a European perspective in almost all fantasy literature. Young examined three authors who were moving away from the traditional telling of fantasy by subverting the typical pseudo-medieval narrative or by moving away from European cultures towards embracing Eastern, Aztec and other non-European worlds.
Oxford Tolkien Spring School launched
January 25, 2013 By
Organised by Oxford University’s Faculty of English Language and Literature where Tolkien taught for most of his career, the spring school is aimed at those who have read some of Tolkien’s fiction and wish to learn more.
Tolkien’s Cauldron: Northern Literature and The Lord of the Rings
December 14, 2012 By
Tolkien was a scholar of Old Norse literature and much of his work in the Lord of the Rings is informed by his knowledge of old Norse mythology, Eddic poetry, and saga. Tolkien’s use of these sources enriched this complex story of Middle-earth.
The Influence of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Masculinist Medievalism
December 14, 2012 By
Tolkien, unlike other influential critics or popular fantasy writers, shapes perception of the Middle Ages from both the top down and the bottom up.
Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
December 14, 2012 By
I’m here not to pander to the fandom, but be brutally honest as a Tolkien lover: The Hobbit was just not that good. In fact, dare I say it, *gasps!*, it wasn’t good at all.
The Hobbit; an unexpected theological journey
December 13, 2012 By
Dr Alison Milbank of the University of Nottingham’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies, offers her insights into J.R.R.Tolkien and his famous novel.
Why Study J.R.R. Tolkien?
December 13, 2012 By
In order to write a fantasy novel you have to commit to metaphysics – you have to create a world, that world has to have a certain consistency, it has to have ontology, what is being in that world, what is it ethics in that world – and Tolkien is particular interested in these metaphysical questions.
Tolkien’s Imaginary Languages
December 13, 2012 By
Tolkien’s extensive knowledge of world languages both ancient and modern lent itself to his creation of the artificial languages that add so much realistic depth to his fictional writing
INTERVIEW: Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths
December 13, 2012 By
An interview with author Nancy Brown on her latest medieval offering: “Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths”.
Language and Legend in the Fantasy Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien
December 12, 2012 By
There was something so real in the languages that he created, and critics wanted to find the inspirations behind Tolkien‘s worlds. Elves, dwarves, men, hobbits, and various other creatures occupied the pages of his books, but the languages he created were complex and had real elements in them. Examples of his invented languages were those spoken by the Elves, Sindarin and Quenya.
Horses of Agency, Element, and Godliness in Tolkien and the Germanic Sagas
December 12, 2012 By
What is the contract between man and equine that allows a beast ten times our size and one hundred times our strength to willingly serve in our ambitions? What magnetism (and who placed it) is it that draws humanity and horses together?
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
December 11, 2012 By
J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic work on the Old English poem
Talk to the Dragon: Tolkien as Translator
December 11, 2012 By
When Bilbo, and the readers of The Hobbit, are confronted with the dragon, they are in for a surprise, as Smaug’s behaviour is somewhat unusual for a dragon.
”Beowulf” and the Influence of Old English on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
December 11, 2012 By
The Lord of the Rings is set in the fictional but incredibly vast and detailed universe of Middle-Earth. Tolkien has put great effort in developing an impossibly gigantic realm peopled by many diverse races. Of the immeasurable number of characters and locations present in Tolkien’s work, many bear a name deeply rooted in Old English.
A Single Leaf: Tolkien’s Visual Art and Fantasy
December 10, 2012 By
With such a model in mind, then, we have entered into a discussion of art, myth‐making, and the Primary World from a combined academic and artistic perspective.
Male Friendship in The Lord of the Rings: Medievalism, the First World War, and Contemporary Rewritings
December 10, 2012 By
I would like to present this research about male friendships in the First World War and to discuss how Tolkien’s work reflects what we see in other writers who represented their experiences in the First War
The Hobbit: “sales are not very great” wrote Tolkien
October 16, 2012 By
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, was one of the most popular novels of the 20th century, but a letter by the author just after the book was published reveals that sales were initially slow and that a second printing may not happen.
The Hobbit – 75 years old and still going strong
September 22, 2012 By
It took a review by a ten-year old boy to convince a publisher to print it, but on September 21, 1937, the first edition of The Hobbit hit the bookstores.
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