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Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Tolkien, J.R.R.—Characters—Sauron

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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

‘A Warp Of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’S Sub-Creations Of Evil, Richard Angelo Bergen Oct 2017

‘A Warp Of Horror’: J.R.R. Tolkien’S Sub-Creations Of Evil, Richard Angelo Bergen

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

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.


"It Had Been His Virtue, And Therefore Also The Cause Of His Fall": Seduction As A Mythopoeic Accounting For Evil In Tolkien's Work, Maria Alberto Apr 2017

"It Had Been His Virtue, And Therefore Also The Cause Of His Fall": Seduction As A Mythopoeic Accounting For Evil In Tolkien's Work, Maria Alberto

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

Seduction is often connected to eros, but Tolkien generally uses the term in a broader fashion. A theoretical underpinning based on medieval sources, Baudrillard, and Catholic thought provides a basis for understanding how characters may be led astray from their proper paths, and how Tolkien’s critique of the domination of other wills is demonstrated in these cases.


The Name Of The Ring; Or, There And Back Again, Janet Brennan Croft Apr 2017

The Name Of The Ring; Or, There And Back Again, Janet Brennan Croft

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

Deals with the decline in power of evil through the ages of Arda, and how this is connected with phases of the development of language (metaphoric, metonymic, and demotic) as described by Northrop Frye and Owen Barfield.


Naming The Evil One: Onomastic Strategies In Tolkien And Rowling, Janet Brennan Croft Oct 2009

Naming The Evil One: Onomastic Strategies In Tolkien And Rowling, Janet Brennan Croft

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

Investigates name magic associated with evil characters in Tolkien and Rowling, such as acts of naming and self-naming, avoidance terms, and the use of true names. Describes the naming plots associated with Melkor/Morgoth, Sauron, Saruman, and Voldemort.


Imitative Desire In Tolkien's Mythology: A Girardian Perspective, Hayden Head Oct 2007

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.


Tolkien's Monsters: Concept And Function In The Lord Of The Rings (Part Iii): Sauron, Joe Abbott Mar 1990

Tolkien's Monsters: Concept And Function In The Lord Of The Rings (Part Iii): Sauron, Joe Abbott

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

Three-part examination of “how Tolkien’s theory of the centrality of the monsters in Beowulf influenced his own concept of ‘monster’ and what function that concept should fulfill within” The Lord of the Rings. The conclusion traces the development of the character of Sauron through preliminary versions in The History of Middle-earth and analyzes the climactic episode at Mount Doom in terms of Sauron’s success as monster and Frodo’s as hero.


Ðe Us Ðas Beagas Geaf (He Who Gave Us These Rings): Sauron And The Perversion Of Anglo-Saxon Ethos, Leslie Stratyner Oct 1989

Ðe Us Ðas Beagas Geaf (He Who Gave Us These Rings): Sauron And The Perversion Of Anglo-Saxon Ethos, Leslie Stratyner

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

Notes that a central concept of Anglo-Saxon culture is the lord as ring-giver. Sauron, as Lord of the Rings, is a perversion of this concept. Other elements of Lord of the Rings reflect the Anglo-Saxon ethos as well


Sauron And Dracula, Gwenyth Hood Dec 1987

Sauron And Dracula, Gwenyth Hood

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

Compares Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Tolkien’s Sauron, noting both profound similarities and important differences, especially in the relationship of these villains and those they tempt to evil.


Sauron Is Watching You: The Role Of The Great Eye In The Lord Of The Rings, Edward Lense Sep 1976

Sauron Is Watching You: The Role Of The Great Eye In The Lord Of The Rings, Edward Lense

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

Finds a source for the Eye of Sauron, and other representations of baleful eyes in Tolkien’s work (“one of the most pervasive and compelling patterns of imagery”), in the Celtic mythological figure Balor of the Evil Eye.


The Role Of Warfare And Strategy In The Lord Of The Rings, Paul M. Lloyd Jan 1976

The Role Of Warfare And Strategy In The Lord Of The Rings, Paul M. Lloyd

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

After a brief analysis of the medieval nature of the arms, armor, and troops in the War of the Ring, examines the strategic advantages and disadvantages of both sides. Postulates Sauron’s “poverty of imagination” as a fatal flaw. The realistic depiction of military strategy gives The Lord of the Rings a feeling of “true” history.