Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Tolkien's Gimpy Heroes, Victoria Holtz Wodzak

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Tolkien, as an invalided survivor of The Somme, was well aware of the prevalence of disabled soldiers and the difficult life they faced in post-war England. He reflects many of their difficulties in his depictions of war survivors in The Children of Húrin and in The Lord of the Rings.

Death And Immortality In Middle-Earth. Ed. Daniel Helen., Mike Foster

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Turning Back The Tides: The Anglo-Saxon Vice Of Ofermod In Tolkien's Fall Of Arthur, Colin J. Cutler

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Tolkien’s Fall of Arthur has at its heart the theme of ofermod, a theme which appears throughout Tolkien’s criticism and creative work. In his essay “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son,” he argues that the Anglo-Saxon word ofermod in the poem The Battle of Maldon condemns the warband’s leader for an over-reaching pride which places his men in desperate straits. This paper conducts a study of the word and its derivatives in various Anglo-Saxon texts, taking the Microfiche Concordance to Old English as its starting point, and traces Tolkien’s creative use of the theme in both his tales of Middle-earth …

"No Pagan Ever Loved His God": Tolkien, Thompson, And The Beautification Of The Gods, M. Fontenot

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Alexei Kondratiev award for best student paper, Mythcon 49. Many scholars have commented on the influence of Catholic mystic Francis Thompson’s poetry on J.R.R. Tolkien’s early forays into creative writing. However, few critical studies have addressed possible connections between Tolkien and Thompson’s prose work. This paper suggests that if anything is comparable between Tolkien and Thompson, it is their respective understandings of art, creation, and the significance of artists, regardless of the form of poetic (or prosaic) expression these sentiments induced. Thompson’s essays on art, paganism, and the immortality of beauty come together to form backdrop against which we might …

On Julian Eilmann's Jrr Tolkien Romanticist And Poet, Reviewed By Kris Swank In Mythlore #132, Nancy Martsch

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Complete Fairy Tales By Charles Perrault. Ed. Christopher Betts; And Illustrations By Gustave Doré. The Mabinogion, Translated By Sioned Davies, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

A review of two titles in the recently reissued Oxford World's Classics Hardback Collection.

Discworld And The Disciplines: Critical Approaches To The Terry Pratchett Works Eds. Anne Hiebert Alton And William C. Spruiell, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Process Of Salvation In Pearl And The Great Divorce, Amber Dunai

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Analyzes the structural, aesthetic, and thematic parallels between C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce and the Middle English dream vision Pearl. By exploring the tension between worldly and heavenly conceptions of justice, value, and possession in The Great Divorce and Pearl, this study demonstrates Lewis’s skill at utilizing and updating medieval source material in order to respond to twentieth-century problems.

Both Sides Of The Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis, Theological Imagination, And Everyday Discipleship Ed. Rob Fennell, S. Dorman

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Neil Gaiman's American Gods: A Postmodern Epic For America, Susan Gorman

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

American Gods presents a postmodern view on America and its people and engages with the epic genre both in terms of form and content. This engagement with epic does not present a coherent view of the nation, as other epics do, but instead highlights multidimensionality and irony, demonstrating potential new ways in which the epic can remain important to literary work. Evaluates Gaiman’s use of formal elements of epic such as the use of the national past and national tradition as well as content components such as the presentation of the epic storyteller and the epic hero as it evaluates …

Paradise Retold: Lewis's Reimagining Of Milton, Eden, And Eve, Benita Huffman Muth

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

C.S. Lewis’ interaction with John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in particular his commentary on and retelling of Milton’s version of the myth of humanity's Fall, allow us to track Lewis’s evolving stance on gender through his changing presentation of Eve-figures. His intertextual interactions with Paradise Lost and Eve change dramatically from A Preface to Paradise Lost and Perelandra to the later The Magician’s Nephew. Lewis’s fragmentation of Eve into multiple characters in The Magician’s Nephew exhibits specifically gendered changes from his early depictions of Eve, reflecting the more nuanced consideration of gender evidenced in Lewis’ later years.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Nazis In The Shire: Tolkien And Satire, Jerome Donnelly

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

The comedy of manners satire that appears in the early pages and conclusion of The Hobbit gives way to a more serious satire in the penultimate chapter of The Lord of the Rings. “The Scouring of the Shire” is not allegorical, but Tolkien’s remarks on “applicability” facilitate critical analysis of the chapter’s satire. Well-known features of Nazism appear in the occupation of the Shire by “Ruffians,” men who tyrannize with egregious regimentation, enforce ever-expanding rules, and who regard the hobbits as belonging to an inferior race. The use of collaborators, threats, torture and killing of dissenters, and internment that …

Back To The Beginning: Rudyard Kipling's Story Of How Beings Learned To Write, D. Marie Nelson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Focuses on ways that Kipling used his abilities as writer, artist, and father to tell the story of how writing began, touching on linguistic and childhood development theories.

Bilingual Puns In The Lord Of The Rings, Pierre H. Berube

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Elvish/English homonyms are the basis of some obvious and less-obvious puns in Tolkien’s work.

The Hobbit And Tolkien's Mythology Ed. Bradford Lee Eden, David L. Emerson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Gothic Fairy Tale In Young Adult Literature: Essays On Stories From Grimm To Gaiman Eds. Joseph Abbruscato And Tanya Jones, Maria Alberto

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Paul Edwin Zimmer’S Alliterative Style: A Metrical Legacy Of J.R.R. Tolkien And Poul Anderson, Dennis Wilson Wise

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Considers J.R.R. Tolkien as one of the founders of the 20^th-century alliterative revival, an informal also including C. S. Lewis and W. H. Auden, and Poul Anderson. The work of Paul Edwin Zimmer, a writer best known for his sword-and-sorcery Dark Border novels, constitutes one of the surprising reaches of the modern alliterative revival into contemporary speculative fiction. Analyzes Zimmer’s long narrative historical poem “Logan,” prose fiction, and other works in technical terms and as art.

A Cloud Of Witnesses: External Mediation In Frodo’S Journey To Rivendell And Beyond, Carl P. Olson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Applies Rene Girard’s mimetic theory to a study of Frodo’s motivations and role models in the early phases of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s incorporation of extensive background material deepens our understanding of his main characters, most of all his central hero, Frodo. Commonly described as “role-models,” external mediators work to pacify relations in a community, and act to endow individuals with meaning, purpose, and direction they otherwise would not have. By the imitation of role-models, Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry become real to Tolkien’s readers by comparison and contrast to Bilbo Baggins, Gildor and his high elves, …

Christian Mythmakers: C.S. Lewis. Madeleine L’Engle, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S Lewis, Et Al. By Rolland Hein. Forward By Clyde S. Kilby, Sharon L. Bolding Phd

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Poetry And Song In The Works Of J.R.R. Tolkien Ed. Anna Milon, Diane Joy Baker

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Tolkien: Maker Of Middle-Earth Ed. Catherine Mcilwaine, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Review of the catalog for the Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibition.

Tyrion Lannister: A Fulcrum Of Balance In George R. R. Martin’S A Song Of Ice And Fire, Patricia Monk

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Tyrion Lannister, a central character in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, is described as a fulcrum point within the series. In Monk’s reading, the dwarf Tyrion’s experiences can be mapped onto the hero’s journey. He is surrounded by dragon imagery which, in a Jungian interpretation, positions him as a potential heir to the throne of Westeros.

Tarot Of The Future: Raising Spiritual Consciousness. Arthur Rosengarten, Emily E. Auger

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Divination And Prophecy In Jrr Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings: Some Observations [Notes], Robert F. Tredray

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Lists and describes prophetic statements and poems, the use of the palantíri in divining far-off events, and the place of prophecy in Middle-earth. Examples of prophecy are mostly used to establish mood; while examples of divination play a more prominent part in the narrative and demand moral decisions on the part of the characters. Thus they not only are important plot devices, but they also reveal to the reader important aspects of the moral nature of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This issue of Mythlore is the first to include a special section since I became editor in 2006. “Divination in Mythopoeic Fantasy” is the topic, and Emily E. Auger is the guest editor for the content starting on page 160. Her editorial describes the theme and the articles and notes included in this section in more detail.

Our regular content begins with an essay by Patricia Monk on Tyrion Lannister, a central character in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, whom Monk describes as a fulcrum point within the series. In her reading, the dwarf Tyrion’s experiences …

Detecting Wimsey: Papers On Dorothy L. Sayer's Detective Fiction. Nancy-Lou Patterson. Ed. Emily E. Auger And Janet Brennan Croft, Joe R. Christopher

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

C.S. Lewis And Christian Postmodernism: Word, Image, And Beyond. Kyoko Yuasa, Peter G. Epps

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

In C. S. Lewis and Christian Postmodernism, Kyoko Yuasa has managed to advance the cause of careful reading and discussion of Lewis’s novels as contemporary cultural artifacts, rather than mere ciphers for apologetics or mere fluff for children, for both Japanese and American audiences. This is no mean feat, not only in terms of translation but also in terms of trans-Pacific discourse, and Yuasa deserves great credit for the accomplishment. Her close reading of several of Lewis’s major fiction works in a comparative frame she derives from works by Iris Murdoch, Muriel Spark, Doris Lessing, and John Fowles yields …

J.R.R. Tolkien, Romanticist And Poet. Julian Eilmann. Translated By Evelyn Koch, Kris Swank

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Scotland's Forgotten Treasure: The Visionary Romances Of George Macdonald. Colin Manlove, Bonnie Gaarden

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.