DOCSLIB.ORG

Food in Tolkien's ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Food in Tolkien's ‘The Lord of the Rings’ ‘What'S Taters, PRECIOUS?’: FOOD IN TOLKIEN'S ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS’ PAUL FREEDMAN AND MARK ANDERSON YALE UNIVERSITY AND CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT SAN BERNARDINO USA Date of reception: 8th of October, 2010 Final date of acceptance: 18th of May, 2011 ABSTRACT “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien offers a magnificent panorama of imagined worlds, yet this epic story has very little description of meals. The prosaic but, as it turns out, heroic hobbits are oriented to comfort, which includes frequent dining, but once beyond the pleasant confines of the Shire, the narrative and descriptions involve beings who are either too evil, too grand or too preoccupied to eat. An exceptional moment, from which the article takes its title, is a debate over raw versus cooked food between two principle and otherwise opposed characters, Sam and Gollum. KEY WORDS J. R. R. Tolkien, “Lord of the Rings”, Fantasy Literature, Food. CAPITALIA VERBA J. R. R. Tolkien, “Dominus Anulorum”, Litterae ad phantasiam, Epulae. IMAGO TEMPORIS. MEDIUM AEVUM, VI (2012): 339-350. ISSN 1888-3931 339 340 PAUL FREEDMAN AND MARK ANDERSON J. R. R. Tolkien, author of what is arguably the most popular work of serious fiction written in the twentieth century, was an eminent scholar of medieval philology and literature.1 It is obvious that the culture, diction and word-forms of the northern Middle Ages infuse “The Lord of the Rings” and its allied works, and so, logically, attempts have been made to interest students in medieval literature via Tolkien's imagination.2 Yet medieval cookery plays no role in creating the atmosphere of Middle-earth in Tolkien's grand narrative.3 There are banquets, minstrels, singing, poetry and generally all manner of medieval ceremonial, but the gastronomic content of the great feasts is invisible since they are provided by elves and the most high-born men of Middle-earth whose interest in the consuming body is minimal. In fact not very much food of any sort is on offer in the “Lord of the Rings”. What meals there are consist of rather basic items such as bread, cheese, bacon and fruit and the only group interested in the pleasures of the table are the hobbits of the Shire. To be sure, a number of feasts are celebrated in the course of “The Lord of the Rings”, but scant account is given of any specific foods included on these occasions. This is in part due to Tolkien's mastery at evoking vivid scenes without obtrusive or burdensome detail. Part of the magic of imagined worlds is that the mundane aspects of life, such as the constant need for sustenance, don’t have to be meticulously accounted for. In “The Hobbit”, a predecessor to “The Lord of the Rings”, the marvelous is encountered by relatively prosaic hobbits and dwarves and because hobbits are fussy about regular and tasty meals, there is much more to say about dining (or the misfortunes of not dining) than in the more grandiose epic. The members of this first quest (undertaken for treasure and not to save the world), are often famished. In “The Hobbit”, sinister and supernatural characters (elves, trolls, even the wizard Gandalf) are depicted as eating ordinary food. In the three books of “Lord of the Rings”, however, the meals become scarce and there is little mention of food at all as the perilous journey moves far from the Shire. If a concern with food is one of the chief characteristics of hobbits and an emblem of their likeable ordinariness, it is also part of their early twentieth century Englishness whose contrast with the tropes of epic and romance are a central conceit of Tolkien's 1. Among the most useful general studies of Tolkien's works and their enduring popularity are: White, Michael. Tolkien: A Biography. London: Penguin, 2001; Shippey, Tom. J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000; Rosebury, Brian.Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003; Curry, Patrick. Defending Middle-earth: Tolkien, Myth and Modernity. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1997. 2. Lee, Stuart D.; Solopova, Elizabeth. The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 3. The absence of sophisticated cooking in Tolkien's works also reflects his personal tastes. He once wrote of himself, “I am in fact a ‘Hobbit’ (in all but size). I like gardens, trees and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking...”, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, eds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981: 288-289. For a further discussion of Tolkien's personal tastes see the entry on Food and Drink in: The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond, eds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006: I, 320-321. IMAGO TEMPORIS. MEDIUM AEVUM, VI (2012): 339-350. ISSN 1888-3931 ‘WHAT’S TATERS, PRECIOUS?’: FOOD IN TOLKIEN’S 341 Middle-earth and part of the appeal of his books. It isn’t appropiate do for hobbits to express their love of dining by doing so on medieval food, because they function as characters who have modern sensibilities (or at least those contemporary with Tolkien's preferences) who are thus an effective means of interpretation of a fantastic world tinged by medieval literature, but not slavishly based on it. Landscape, memory, and weather are more important in “The Lord of the Rings” than the minutiae of everyday life. The familiar must be balanced with the fantastic and the fantastic can’t be too literally medieval. It won’t do to have banquets that involve dishes that are too familiar as that spoils the sense of distance and otherness, but at the same time, having already invented languages, geographies and creatures, too much attention to a wholly unfamiliar cuisine would make Middle-earth an excessively mapped-out world. Yet if the food is too consistently medieval, the uncanny and evocative but unpredictable appeal of Tolkien's world would be in danger of having an archaic rather than an imaginative atmosphere. Tolkien was adept at rationing out his medieval inspiration so that although broken swords, subterranean miner-dwarves and herb-lore are taken from the literature of the Middle Ages, the imagined Middle-earth is considerably more than a neo- medieval fancy.4 If the food of Middle-earth were to seem too much like that of medieval Europe (swans, game, spices) this might look like excessively literal borrowing from the Middle Ages. On the other hand, if the food were too fanciful, the story would take on the coloration of science fiction: making it part of an alternate and hence possibly irrelevant universe.5 “The Lord of the Rings” is a fantasy, but an erudite, controlled, complex and compelling one created through selective yet vivid details and atmosphere. Scenes involving meals in “Lord of the Rings” highlight the hobbits’ affinity with cultivated and pleasantly scenic nature over and against the supernatural realm, exemplified by the elves and other beneficent fantastic creatures such as the Ents as well as the anti-natural force of the Dark Lord, Sauron. Each of the three tiers in Tolkien's cosmology (immortal elves, humans and hobbits, and the evil beings controlled by Sauron) has a mode of food consumption specific to it and changes in character arcs are signified in part by changes in what and how they eat as they move up or down within the system. Frodo loses his hobbit's preoccupation with food as he approaches Mordor and Mount Doom; Gollum has fallen from a hobbit- like state of normal appetite to an eagerness for disgusting food; Saruman's descent is marked by an appetite for physical sustenance inappropriate for a wizard in good standing. Throughout the epic, however, different sorts of beings are associated with different levels of interest in food. The major contrast is between the hobbits, through whose eyes the story is told, and almost everyone else. The hobbits enjoy and think 4. On Tolkien and the Middle Ages see the essays edited in: Chance, Jane. Tolkien the Medievalist. London: Routledge, 2003. 5. See Tolkien's comments on the first feature films ofThe Lord of the Rings for an explanation of his dislike of “scientification” in stories,The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien...: 270-277. IMAGO TEMPORIS. MEDIUM AEVUM, VI (2012): 339-350. ISSN 1888-3931 342 PAUL FREEDMAN AND MARK ANDERSON about food (although not in great detail) while everyone else either doesn’t require physical nourishment because of their supernatural power, or merely subsists. There is some food and actually quite a lot of drink in the story, but not consistently. Bread, cheese, fruit, smoked or salted pork, honey, milk, wine and beer are the most frequently mentioned fare, simple items plausible in both a medieval and a modern setting. There are some exceptions and we will discuss the anomaly of the only significant cooked meal in “Lord of the Rings”: the rabbit stew Sam prepares on the border of Mordor. As we’ve said, the story is not bogged down by meticulous description of accoutrements or consumption. The beauty and horror of Middle-earth are vividly depicted but not its economy or the details of its material culture. One should not inquire too closely about how agriculture, land-tenure or the supply and distribution of goods function in Middle-earth. There are whole regions and many episodes in which the logistics of food are ignored completely.6 How, for example, do the hosts of evil land of Mordor survive? While Mordor as seen by the hobbits is almost completely desolate, Tolkien tells his readers in an aside that there were agricultural territories around Mordor's inland sea of Núrnen worked by slaves to feed the armies of orcs as well as tributary lands to the south and east7.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Trenz-2013-Leveraging-The-Hobbit.Pdf
    The Opportunity • The world’s eyes have been on us • The Hobbit movies highlight New Zealand as: – a great place to visit – a great place to do business – a great place for film production • Take the attention and use it to our advantage We’re starting from a good base In 2004... • 87% of visitors were aware The Lord of The • Rings trilogy was made in New Zealand. • 6% cite The Lord of the Rings as being one of the main reasons for visiting • 1% cite the Lord of the Rings as their main or only reason for visiting equating to $33m in spend MIDDLE-EARTH IS NEW ZEALAND Paid Earned TV & IMP CINEMA Partnerships Opinion Leaders Content distribution Print Display Idea Premiere Media Programme newzealand.com Owned Social Assets: Pre-premiere IMP Key media hosted through IMP in the lead up to the premiere produced strong results including: Lonely Planet, The Daily Telegraph, The Telegraph Online and Mezamashi Doyoubi The premiere programme The media: - 40+ broadcast media – including NBC, TF1, Prosebien, CTV, T4, Channel 7, 9, 10 - 30+ print and online – NZ and AU - 100s of millions - estimate reach hundreds of viewers worldwide - NZ$24.7million AVE Germany – Pro7 Hobbit Special (45min) Audience: 1,190,000 AVE: NZ$6,236,527 USA - NBC TODAY Show & Rock Center Canada - etalk on CTV Audience: avg 4.5 million Audience: 610,900 AVE: NZ$4.3 million (total for 6 AVE: NZ$473,330 segments) Hobbiton event - Over 80 International and NZ media attended - Guided tour of the Hobbiton movie set - Cast interviews with dwarves – global exclusive - Press conference
    [Show full text]
  • LOTR and Beowulf: I Need a Hero
    Jestice/English 4 Lord of the Rings and Beowulf: I need a hero! (100 points) Directions: 1. On your own paper, and as you watch the selected scenes, answer the following questions by comparing and contrasting the heroism of Frodo Baggins to that of Beowulf. (The scene numbers are from the extended version; however, the scene titles are consistent with the regular edition.) 2. Use short answer but complete sentences. Fellowship of the Ring Scene 10: The Shadow of the Past Gandalf already has shown Frodo the One Ring and has told Frodo he must keep it hidden and safe. Frodo obliges. But when Gandalf tells him the story of the ring and that Frodo must take it out of the Shire, Frodo’s reaction is different. 1. Explain why Frodo reacts the way he does. Is this behavior fitting for a hero? Why or why not? Is Frodo a hero at this point of the story? 2. How does this differ from Beowulf’s call to adventure? Scene 27: The Council of Elrond Leaders from across Middle Earth have gathered in the Elvish capital of Rivendell to discuss the fate of the One Ring. Frodo has taken the ring to Rivendell for safekeeping. Having already tried unsuccessfully to destroy the ring, the leaders argue about who should take it to be consumed in the fires of Mordor. Frodo steps forward and accepts the challenge. 1. Frodo’s physical stature makes this journey seem impossible. What kinds of traits apparent so far in the story will help him overcome this deficiency? 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roots of Middle-Earth: William Morris's Influence Upon J. R. R. Tolkien
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 12-2007 The Roots of Middle-Earth: William Morris's Influence upon J. R. R. Tolkien Kelvin Lee Massey University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Massey, Kelvin Lee, "The Roots of Middle-Earth: William Morris's Influence upon J. R. R. olkien.T " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2007. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/238 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Kelvin Lee Massey entitled "The Roots of Middle-Earth: William Morris's Influence upon J. R. R. olkien.T " I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in English. David F. Goslee, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Thomas Heffernan, Michael Lofaro, Robert Bast Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Kelvin Lee Massey entitled “The Roots of Middle-earth: William Morris’s Influence upon J.
    [Show full text]
  • JRR Tolkien's Sub-Creations of Evil
    Volume 36 Number 1 Article 7 10-15-2017 ‘A Warp of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sub-creations of Evil Richard Angelo Bergen University of British Columbia Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Bergen, Richard Angelo (2017) "‘A Warp of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sub-creations of Evil," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 36 : No. 1 , Article 7. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol36/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Considers Tolkien’s skilled evocation of evil and the way he manages to hold Augustinian and Manichean conceptions of evil in balance, particularly in his depiction of orcs. Additional Keywords Augustine, St.—Concept of evil; Evil, Nature of, in J.R.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Middle-Earth: the Wizards Characters(Hero) Resources(Hero
    Middle-earth: The Wizards Card-list (484 cards) Sold in starters and boosters (no cards from other sets needed to play). A booster (15 cards, 36 boosters per display) holds 1 rare, 3 uncommons, and 11 commons. A starter holds a fixed set (at random), 3 rares, 9 uncommons, and 40 commons. R: rare; U: uncommon; CA1: once on general common sheet; CA2: twice on general common sheet; CB1: once on booster-only common sheet; CB2: twice on booster-only common sheet; F#: in # different fixed sets (out of 5). Look at the Fixed pack specs to see what cards are in in which fixed set. Characters (hero) Thorin II R Gwaihir R Risky Blow CA Thranduil F1 Halfling Stealth CB2 Roäc the Raven R Adrazar F1 Vôteli CB Halfling Strength CB2 Sacrifice of Form R Alatar F2 Vygavril R Hauberk of Bright Mail CA Sapling of the White Tree U Anborn U Wacho U Healing Herbs CA2 Scroll of Isildur U Annalena F2 Hiding R Secret Entrance R Aragorn II F1 Resources (hero) Hillmen U Secret Passage CA Arinmîr U A Chance Meeting CB Hobbits R Shadowfax R Arwen R A Friend or Three CB2 Horn of Anor CB Shield of Iron-bound Ash CA2 Balin U Align Palantir U Horses CA Skinbark R Bard Bowman F2 Anduin River CB2 Iron Hill Dwarves F1 Southrons R Barliman Butterbur U Anduril R Kindling of the Spirit CA Star-glass U Beorn F1 Army of the Dead R Knights of Dol Amroth U Stars U Beregond F1 Ash Mountains CB Lapse of Will U Stealth CA Beretar U Athelas U Leaflock U Sting U Bergil U Beautiful Gold Ring CA2 Lesser Ring U Stone of Erech R Bifur CB Beornings F1 Lordly Presence CB2 Sun U Bilbo R Bill
    [Show full text]
  • The Comforts: the Image of Home in <I>The Hobbit</I>
    Volume 14 Number 1 Article 6 Fall 10-15-1987 All the Comforts: The Image of Home in The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Wayne G. Hammond Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hammond, Wayne G. (1987) "All the Comforts: The Image of Home in The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 14 : No. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol14/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Examines the importance of home, especially the Shire, as metaphor in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Relates it to the importance of change vs. permanence as a recurring theme in both works.
    [Show full text]
  • “To Trees All Men Are Orcs”: the Environmental Ethic of J.R.R. Tolkien's “The New Shadow” (Forthcoming in Tolkien Studies)
    “To trees all Men are Orcs”: The environmental ethic of J.R.R. Tolkien's “The New Shadow” (forthcoming in Tolkien Studies) Introduction In the last few decades, a number of works have aimed to examine the environmental ethics implicit in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien (e.g. Brisbois 2005, Curry 1997, Dickerson and Evans 2006, Ekman 2013, Habermann and Kuhn 2011, Jeffers 2014, Resta 1990, Simonson 2015). The great majority of this scholarly attention has focused on the text of the published Lord of the Rings, with some secondary consideration for The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. In doing so, scholars (aside from brief mentions by Birzer 2003 and Flieger 2000) have passed over what may be Tolkien's most explicit statement about environmental ethics in his writings about his legendarium: a debate between the characters Saelon and Borlas in The New Shadow, his abortive attempt to write a sequel to The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien 1996). Saelon and Borlas directly consider the proper relationship of humans to nature, and the limits of our exploitation of it. This paper's purpose is twofold. After introducing recent scholarship on Tolkien as an environmental writer and the text of the Saelon-Borlas debate, I first bring these two bodies of writing together, showing how the debate in The New Shadow reflects and extends the environmental perspective contained in Tolkien's better-known works. Second, I bring the debate into conversation with another significant body of literature, that of normative environmental ethics. I show how the claims made by Saelon and Borlas reflect sophisticated thinking about questions of biocentrism and anthropocentrism, and of the possibility of respectful use of nature, that environmental ethicists have weighed.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc Anderson Rearick Mount Vernon Nazarene University
    Inklings Forever Volume 4 A Collection of Essays Presented at the Fourth Frances White Ewbank Colloquium on C.S. Article 10 Lewis & Friends 3-2004 Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc Anderson Rearick Mount Vernon Nazarene University Follow this and additional works at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Rearick, Anderson (2004) "Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc," Inklings Forever: Vol. 4 , Article 10. Available at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever/vol4/iss1/10 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis & Friends at Pillars at Taylor University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Inklings Forever by an authorized editor of Pillars at Taylor University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INKLINGS FOREVER, Volume IV A Collection of Essays Presented at The Fourth FRANCES WHITE EWBANK COLLOQUIUM ON C.S. LEWIS & FRIENDS Taylor University 2004 Upland, Indiana Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? Anderson Rearick, III Mount Vernon Nazarene University Rearick, Anderson. “Why Is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc?” Inklings Forever 4 (2004) www.taylor.edu/cslewis 1 Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? Anderson M. Rearick, III The Dark Face of Racism Examined in Tolkien’s themselves out of sync with most of their peers, thus World1 underscoring the fact that Tolkien’s work has up until recently been the private domain of a select audience, In Jonathan Coe’s novel, The Rotters’ Club, a an audience who by their very nature may have confrontation takes place between two characters over inhibited serious critical examinations of Tolkien’s what one sees as racist elements in Tolkien’s Lord of work.
    [Show full text]
  • Tolkien's Creative Technique: <I>Beowulf</I> and <I>The Hobbit</I>
    Volume 15 Number 3 Article 1 Spring 3-15-1989 Tolkien's Creative Technique: Beowulf and The Hobbit Bonniejean Christensen Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Christensen, Bonniejean (1989) "Tolkien's Creative Technique: Beowulf and The Hobbit," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 15 : No. 3 , Article 1. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol15/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Asserts that “The Hobbit, differing greatly in tone, is nonetheless a retelling of the incidents that comprise the plot and the digressions in both parts of Beowulf.” However, his retelling is from a Christian point of view. Additional Keywords Beowulf—Influence on The Hobbit; olkien,T J.R.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Small Renaissances Engendered in JRR Tolkien's Legendarium
    Eastern Michigan University DigitalCommons@EMU Senior Honors Theses Honors College 2017 'A Merrier World:' Small Renaissances Engendered in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium Dominic DiCarlo Meo Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.emich.edu/honors Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Meo, Dominic DiCarlo, "'A Merrier World:' Small Renaissances Engendered in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium" (2017). Senior Honors Theses. 555. http://commons.emich.edu/honors/555 This Open Access Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College at DigitalCommons@EMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@EMU. For more information, please contact lib- [email protected]. 'A Merrier World:' Small Renaissances Engendered in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium Abstract After surviving the trenches of World War I when many of his friends did not, Tolkien continued as the rest of the world did: moving, growing, and developing, putting the darkness of war behind. He had children, taught at the collegiate level, wrote, researched. Then another Great War knocked on the global door. His sons marched off, and Britain was again consumed. The "War to End All Wars" was repeating itself and nothing was for certain. In such extended dark times, J. R. R. Tolkien drew on what he knew-language, philology, myth, and human rights-peering back in history to the mythologies and legends of old while igniting small movements in modern thought. Arthurian, Beowulfian, African, and Egyptian myths all formed a bedrock for his Legendarium, and fantasy-fiction as we now know it was rejuvenated.Just like the artists, authors, and thinkers from the Late Medieval period, Tolkien summoned old thoughts to craft new creations that would cement themselves in history forever.
    [Show full text]
  • Myth, Fantasy and Fairy-Story in Tolkien's Middle-Earth Buveneswary
    MYTH, FANTASY AND FAIRY-STORY IN TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE-EARTH Malaya BUVENESWARY VATHEMURTHYof DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FACULTY OF ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY MALAYA University2016 MYTH, FANTASY AND FAIRY-STORY IN TOLKIEN’S MIDDLE-EARTH BUVENESWARY VATHEMURTHYMalaya of DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF ARTS FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR University2016 Abstract This dissertation explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s ideas and beliefs on myth, fantasy and fairy story and their roles in portraying good and evil in his famous works. Indeed, many authors and critics such as Bradley J. Birzer, Patrick Curry, Joseph Pearce, Ursula Le Guin, and Jay Richards have researched Tolkien based on this connection. They have worked on the nature of good and evil in his stories, the relevance of Tolkien in contemporary society, and the importance of myth and fantasy. However, my original contribution would be to examine the pivotal roles of myth, fantasy and fairy story as a combined whole and to demonstrate that they depend on one another to convey truths about good and evil. This research is aimed at showing that Middle-earth evolves from a combination of these three genres. This is made evident by the way Tolkien crafted his lecture On Fairy Stories for a presentation at the AndrewMalaya Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews in 1939. This dissertation then examines Tolkien’s own definitions of myth, fantasy and fairy stories and his extensiveof research on these “old-fashioned” or forgotten genres. He believed they could provide a cure for the moral and human degradation triggered by modernism.
    [Show full text]
  • Applying Anthropology to Fantasy: a Structural Analysis Of
    APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY TO FANTASY: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS By Christina C. Estep B.A., University of Mary Washington, 2010 A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities The University of West Florida In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2014 © 2014 Christina C. Estep The thesis of Christina C. Estep is approved: ____________________________________________ _________________ Margaret W. Huber, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ Kristina Killgrove, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ John E. Worth, Ph.D., Committee Member Date ____________________________________________ _________________ Robert C. Philen, Ph.D., Committee Chair Date Accepted for the Department/Division: ____________________________________________ _________________ John R. Bratten, Ph.D., Chair Date Accepted for the University: ____________________________________________ _________________ Richard S. Podemski, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School Date ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to recognize my thesis committee, Dr. Robert Philen, Dr. Kristina Killgrove, Dr. John Worth, and Dr. Margaret Huber, for taking the time and effort to help me with not only my thesis, but my academic endeavors. Without these individuals, I would not be where I am now or possess the knowledge that I now have. Secondly, I want thank my parents, Bonnie and Carl Estep. Despite their hardships in life, my parents have supported me through every decision I have made, encouraged me to pursue a higher degree, and were always there to cheer me on when times were tough. Finally, I want to acknowledge my husband Brian, who has been my rock during the most stressful of times.
    [Show full text]