Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Tolkien As A Child Of The Green Fairy Book, Ruth Berman

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

Considers the influence of some of Tolkien’s earliest childhood reading, the Andrew Lang fairy books, and the opinions he expressed about these books in “On Fairy-stories.” Examines the series for possible influences on Tolkien’s fiction in its portrayal of fairy queens, dragons, and other fantasy tropes.

“Deep Lies The Sea-Longing": Inklings Of Home, Charles A. Huttar

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

Scholar Guest of Honor speech from Mythcon 35. Insightful study of the pattern of references to sea-voyages and the earthly paradise in Tolkien, Lewis, and Williams traces the influence of Arthurian, Celtic, and Greek legends in their writing.

The Centre Of The Inklings: Lewis? Williams? Barfield? Tolkien?, Diana Pavlac Glyer

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

Considers which of the Inklings might be considered the “centre” of the group through a discussion of the dynamics of the writing workshop. On the basis of studies of successful writing groups, concludes the Inklings are a model of the type of group which includes several different types of leaders, but no authoritative overall leader.

Archaeology And The Sense Of History In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Deborah Sabo

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

Looks at ruins and other archaeological sites in Middle-earth and their place in the cultural history of its various races, and by reflection, the place of archaeology in our own cultural memories. Considers Lake-town, the Barrow-Downs, Weathertop, and other locations to show differing attitudes toward and uses of the past.

The Enigma Of Radagast: Revision, Melodrama, And Depth, Nicholas Birns

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

Investigates the tangled textual history of Radagast, a much-neglected character, and what it says about Tolkien’s writing technique and care in making revisions. Investigates changes in his function between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and why and how he disappears from the later story.

Imitative Desire In Tolkien's Mythology: A Girardian Perspective, Hayden Head

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

Tests the theories of literary critic René Girard against selected stories from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and finds some interesting cases of applicability, particularly in the connected stories of Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman, and in the various Ring-bearers, particularly Gollum. Contrasts Tom Bombadil’s lack of desire and envy.

Maldon And Moria: On Byrhtnoth, Gandalf, And Heroism In The Lord Of The Rings, Alexander M. Bruce

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

A close look at “The Battle of Maldon” and how Tolkien’s opinion of Bryhtnoth’s actions echoes through his Beowulf essay, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son,” and even into the character of Gandalf.

Pagan Beliefs In The Serpent's Tooth, Joe R. Christopher

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

An examination of the pagan belief structure in The Serpent’s Tooth, Diana Paxson’s retelling of King Lear. Discusses her use of source material in Shakespeare, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and early pagan religious beliefs.

At Home And Abroad: Éowyn's Two-Fold Figuring As War Bride In The Lord Of The Rings, Melissa Smith

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

A reading of Éowyn as a war-bride, providing new insights into her relationships with both Aragorn and Faramir and into the challenges facing war-brides throughout history. Considers her as the left-behind war bride in her interactions with Aragorn, and as the war bride accompanying her husband to a new country with Faramir.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

"Good, Not Safe": Structure Vs. Chaos In Narnia And The Writing Workshop, Ethan Campbell, Robert Jackson

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

Considers Lewis as a member of a writing group, and its effect on his narrative techniques. Examines Lewis’s self-imposition of tight structure when writing for children, and the moments when his story escapes his own rules. Discusses using Lewis in the creative writing classroom.

Sacral Kingship: Aragorn As The Rightful And Sacrificial King In The Lord Of The Rings, Karen Simpson Nikakis

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

Consideration of Aragorn’s mythical role as rightful and sacrificial king in The Lord of the Rings. Using studies of the structure and function of kingship in folklore and mythology, presents instances of self-sacrifice in Aragorn’s story to show how he exemplifies ancient patterns of regenerative sacrifice.

Nazis, Mythology, And Totalitarian Minds In Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, Gilbert Mcinnis

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

Discusses the Nazi appropriation and mythologization of Darwinian evolutionary theories in Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night.

Reviews, Jason Fisher, Charles A. Huttar, Andrew Lazo

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

Milton, Spenser, and the Chronicles of Narnia: Literary Sources for C.S. Lewis's Novels. Elizabeth Baird Hardy. Reviewed by Charles A. Huttar.

C.S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. Edited by Bruce L. Edwards. Reviewed by Jason Fisher.

The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien as Writers in Community. Diana Pavlac Glyer. Reviewed by Andrew Lazo.

Roots and Branches: Selected Papers on Tolkien. Tom Shippey. Reviewed by Jason Fisher.

Letters To Malcolm And The Trouble With Narnia: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, And Their 1949 Crisis, Eric Seddon

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

Proposes an intriguing solution to the question of Tolkien and Lewis’s estrangement in 1949: that it was Tolkien’s objections to anti-Catholic sentiments expressed in Lewis’s Letters to Malcolm and some beliefs deeply incompatible with Tolkien’s Catholicism expressed in the depiction of Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia that initially estranged them.

The Ogre Blinded And The Lord Of The Rings, Daniel Peretti

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

Applies folk-tale analysis tools to the climactic Mount Doom scene of The Lord of the Rings, finding intriguing roots in the “ogre blinded” motif most familiar to readers from the Polyphemos episode of The Odyssey.

Reviews, David D. Oberhelman, Clark Hutton

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

The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Reviewed by David D. Oberhelman.

The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All. Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson. Reviewed by Clark Hutton.

Through A Dark Lens: Jackson's Lord Of The Rings As Abject Horror, R.D. Hall

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

Shows how Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy makes more sense “read” as horror than fantasy, drawing on definitions of horror from film theory and on Jackson’s own previous work.

Fantastical Fact, Home, Or Other? The Imagined 'Medieval' In C.S. Lewis, Alison Searle

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

Examines the imagined medievalism of Lewis’s That Hideous Strength and the Narnia books, and shows how it reaches the integrated level of myth in the latter while remaining on a more allegorical level in the former.

Galadriel And Morgan Le Fey: Tolkien's Redemption Of The Lady Of The Lacuna, Susan Carter

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

Looks at Galadriel’s role in the text of The Lord of the Rings—specifically at what is not revealed about her there—finding parallels with the treatment of Morgan le Fey in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the Middle English texts with which Tolkien was most associated as a scholar.

The Fall And Repentance Of Galadriel, Romuald Ian Lakowski

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

Fills in some of the gaps of Galadriel’s depiction in The Lord of the Rings with a close examination of her history throughout the development of Tolkien’s legendarium, and particularly Tolkien’s evolving conception of her rebellion and redemption.

Battling The Woman Warrior: Females And Combat In Tolkien And Lewis, Candice Fredrick, Sam Mcbride

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

Examines women in combat in a number of Tolkien’s and Lewis’s works, finding that their portrayals have one thing in common: battles are ugly when women fight.

Finding Woman's Role In The Lord Of The Rings, Melissa Mccrory Hatcher

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

Offers an opposing viewpoint on the “taming” of the woman warrior in Tolkien, suggesting that Éowyn’s rejection of the warrior’s life is a fulfillment of Tolkien’s theme of healing and rebirth rather than a subjection to a male partner.

Pullman, Lewis, Macdonald, And The Anxiety Of Influence, William Gray

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

Building on the theoretical framework of Harold Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence, traces a path of influence and “anxiety” from George MacDonald through C.S. Lewis to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

Beorn And Tom Bombadil: A Tale Of Two Heroes, Paul W. Lewis

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

Compares Tolkien’s Beorn and Tom Bombadil, assessing their functions in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, their characters, and their importance, although they are tangential in their stories, to Tolkien’s themes.

Feudal Values, Vassalage, And Fealty In The Lord Of The Rings, Colleen Donnelly

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

Examines Tolkien’s themes of service and stewardship, finding a model for the social order of Middle-earth in medieval feudalism and fealty.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Meaning, Meanings, And Epistemology In C.S. Lewis, Charlie W. Starr

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

Examines some challenging philosophical concepts under Lewis’s guidance, and through its discussion of myth, allegory, and truth, brings us back to the influence of medieval thought on Lewis’s fiction.

Prince Caspian And Child Christopher And Goldilind The Fair, Robert Boenig

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

A look at the roots of Lewis’s Prince Caspian in William Morris’s Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair (and in turn Morris’s source in Havelok the Dane) investigating the “imaginatively redemptive” changes Lewis made to this source material.

The Monstrosity Of The Gaze: Critical Problems With A Film Adaptation Of The Lord Of The Rings, Allison Harl

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

Applies the theory of the “gaze” to the audience’s interpretation of Peter Jackson’s films, emphasizing Tolkien’s own characterization of the power of the hypnotic gaze of many of his monsters.