Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Myth-Remaking In The Shadow Of Vergil: The Captive(-Ated) Voice Of Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavina, T. S. Miller

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

Reading of Ursula K. Le Guin’s not-exactly-historical novel Lavinia, which combines her thematic interest in the feminine voice and experience with postmodern and existential concerns about authorship, textuality, and the collaboration between author and reader (and author and character)—resulting, as always with Le Guin, in something rich, deep, and difficult to classify. Explores how Le Guin adapted the original sources to create a novel from the female character’s point of view.

Corrupting Beauty: Rape Narrative In The Silmarillion, Lynn Whitaker

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

Describes the themes and traditions Tolkien was drawing on as a storyteller in the tales of Aredhel and Lúthien, but more importantly, examines the theological implications suggested by his depictions of the women in these stories and how these “rape narratives” serve to underscore the sacredness of the created world in Tolkien’s legendarium.

Announcements, The Council Of Stewards

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

The Alexei Kondratiev Award for the Best Student Paper Presented at Mythcon

Reviews, Joe R. Christopher, Janet Brennan Croft, Jason Fisher, Priscilla Hobbs, Emily A. Moniz, David D. Oberhelman, Harley J. Sims

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

Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits. Dimitra Fimi. Reviewed by Jason Fisher.

Charles Williams and his Contemporaries. Suzanne Bray and Richard Sturch, eds. Reviewed by Joe R. Christopher.

In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers who Tried to Build a Perfect Language. Arika Okrent. Reviewed by Harley J. Sims.

Millennial Mythmaking: Essays on the Power of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Films and Games. John Perlich & David Whitt, eds. Reviewed by Priscilla Hobbs

Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien. Bradford Lee Eden, ed. Reviewed by …

Simbelmynë: Mortality And Memory In Middle-Earth, William H. Stoddard

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

Elegiac contemplation of the function of memory in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, and the complex intersections of memory, loss, immortality, consolation, and creativity made flesh in Tolkien’s depictions of the races of Elves and Men and their interactions.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Master Of Doom By Doom Mastered: Heroism, Fate, And Death In The Children Of Húrin, Jesse Mitchell

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

This extensive study of Túrin Turambar uses two frameworks to examine his character and story: that of the Byronic Hero (with a side glance at the Gothic Villain in order to differentiate the two), and that of the Absurd Hero, exemplified by Camus’s Sisyphus.

The Thread On Which Doom Hangs: Free Will, Disobedience, And Eucatastrophe In Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Janet Brennan Croft

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

Scholar Guest of Honor speech, Mythcon 41. Reviews theological concepts underlying the ideas of war in heaven and free will and, touching briefly on Stanley Milgram’s experiments in obedience along the way, examines various examples of disobedience in Tolkien’s legendarium, their consequences, and their ultimate subservience to the eucatastrophic fate of Arda.

Dwarves, Spiders, And Murky Woods: J.R.R. Tolkien's Wonderful Web Of Words, Jason Fisher

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

An engaging linguistic study of the Mirkwood episode in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, which the author uses as a typical example of the depth and interwoven complexity of the author’s linguistic invention. Touches on the linguistic features of a number of real and invented words and concepts relating to spiders, poison, and dwarves.

Germanic Fate And Doom In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, Richard J. Whitt

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

The roots of Tolkien’s concepts in early Germanic understandings of the ideas of fate and doom are the subject of Whitt’s essay. Examines how these initially pagan notions were subsumed into the Christian idea of divine providence, and most notably blended together in the Old English Beowulf and Old Saxon Heliand, to provide a basis for understanding how even the Valar are subject to time and the fate decreed by Ilúvatar.

Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs: Simple Humanity In Tolkien's Inhuman Creatures, Robert T. Tally, Jr.

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

A careful study of “the orcish question,” in which the author investigates their behavior, conversations, and interactions with other races in order to propose some challenging conclusions about racism, souls, and Tolkien’s purpose in creating orcs the way he did.

Letters, Douglas A. Anderson, Pierre H. Berube

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

A Footnote to Tales Before Narnia by Douglas A. Anderson: Suggests an addition to the list of recommended reading in the author’s Tales Before Narnia: M.P. Shiel. C.S. Lewis was known to have owned several books by this author.

The Origins of Dwarves by Pierre H. Berube: Following on Helios de Rosario Martinez’s article in Mythlore 109/110, suggests several avenues of exploration for the popular folkloric concept of dwarves as miners.

The Company They Didn't Keep: Collaborative Women In The Letters Of C.S. Lewis, Sam Mcbride

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

Building on the work of Diana Pavlac Glyer to establish a framework and set of terms for understanding the collaborative nature of the Inklings, McBride takes us outside their exclusively masculine circle to look at women who influenced Lewis’s writing. His study introduces us to women who served Lewis as, in Glyer’s terms, Resonators, Opponents, Conductors, and so on, from anonymous fans to well-known names like Pitter and Sayers.

C.S. Lewis's "The Meteorite" And The Importance Of Context, Joe R. Christopher

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

Contrasts two readings of C.S. Lewis’s poem “The Meteorite”: first reading and explicating it out of context in the Formalistic manner, and then demonstrating the added layer of meaning gained by considering its use as the envoi to Miracles, and the implications this has for Formalistic critical approaches to literature.

"Dwarves Are Not Heroes": Antisemitism And The Dwarves In J.R.R. Tolkien's Writing, Rebecca Brackmann

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

This challenging paper on mythology in Tolkien’s depiction of Dwarves brings some much-needed definition to the ongoing discussion of Tolkien and race. Quotes China Miéville’s observation that “racism is true” in Tolkien’s works, “in that people really are defined by their race,” but demonstrates how Tolkien’s conception of the racial characteristics of Dwarves changed over his lifetime. Yet we come back in the end to the inescapable fact, with all its implications, that the Dwarves continue to have a set of recognizable racial characteristics.

Rethinking Shylock's Tragedy: Radford's Critique Of Anti-Semetism In The Merchant Of Venice, Frank P. Riga

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

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is not usually thought of as one of his more mythically resonant plays (aside from the Belmont casket scene), yet it is ultimately based on prevailing contemporary Christian myths about Jews and the way these myths defined Christians’ beliefs about themselves. This paper examines film director Michael Radford’s masterful use of myths and symbolism in his production of this play. Includes a reproduction of a painting which Radford duplicates in the final scene of the film, resolving the multiple themes of the play.

The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell? Philip Pullman, C.S. Lewis, And The Fantasy Tradition, Marek Oziewicz, Daniel Hade

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

Closely scrutinizes Pullman’s frequent denials of his quite obvious debt to C.S. Lewis, finding the hidden nuances in Pullman’s statements by separating out his responses to Lewis as a reader, author, and critic. The inescapable conclusion is that not only is Pullman writing classic fantasy, he is in close agreement with Lewis on many points as a reader and critic.

Reviews, David Bratman, Joe R. Christopher, Edith L. Crowe, Kim Coleman Healy, David D. Oberhelman, Richard Tuerk

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

Where the Shadows Lie: A Jungian Interpretation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Pia Skogemann. Reviewed by Edith L. Crowe.

Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story. Evan I. Schwartz. Reviewed by Richard Tuerk.

Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman. Ed. Don W. King. Reviewed by Joe R. Christopher.

Collected Poems. Mervyn Peake, edited with an introduction by R.W. Maslen. Reviewed by David Bratman.

C.S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy. Sanford Schwartz. Reviewed by Joe R. Christopher.

Death and Fantasy: Essays on Philip …

The Voice Of Saruman: Wizards And Rhetoric In The Two Towers, Jay Ruud

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

Examines one aspect of Tolkien’s wizards—their skill in the art of rhetoric. Provides a useful exercise in recognizing fallacious reasoning in persuasive speech by defining and demonstrating classical rhetorical methods employed by Saruman and Gandalf.

J.R.R. Tolkien's "Leaf By Niggle": An Allegory In Transformation, Marie Nelson

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

Nelson demonstrates that Tolkien’s allegorical short story, “Leaf by Niggle,” owes a debt to the medieval play Everyman as its primary spiritual ancestor, and discusses changes Tolkien makes to its message in the light of concepts he developed in “On Fairy-stories,” along the way touching on the differences between works meant for performance and silent reading.

Totemic Reflexes In Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Yvette Kisor

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

A close look at Tolkien’s incorporation of traces of shamanism and totemism in his depiction of Gandalf and other characters; yet another indication of how Tolkien created historical depth in his tales by reproducing the way traces of early mythic and religious themes survive in later tales and folklore.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Phantastical Regress: The Return Of Desire And Deed In Phantastes And The Pilgrim's Regress, Jeffrey Bilbro

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

Examines the close link between George MacDonald’s Phantastes and C.S. Lewis’s first post-conversion fiction The Pilgrim's Regress, born out of the “baptism” of Lewis’s imagination by MacDonald’s seminal work. Both feature pairings of seekers initially led by desire with knight-like figures, and takes the characters through journeys with many important parallels, including learning lessons showing that desire and deed must work in harmony to bring about successful spiritual quests.

The Shire Quest: The 'Scouring Of The Shire' As The Narrative And Thematic Focus Of The Lord Of The Rings, David M. Waito

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

Urges us to take a step back from the well-known and thoroughly examined Ring Quest in The Lord of the Rings and consider its frame, the beginning and ending chapters set in the Shire, as representing an important Quest in their own right. The ‘Shire Quest’ is ultimately seen as the real focus of the book, with the ‘Ring Quest’ providing the necessary maturing experiences that allow the hobbits to succeed in reclaiming their homeland.

Fairy And Elves In Tolkien And Traditional Literature, Helios De Rosario Martínez

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

Explores the linguistic heritage of the terms elf and fairy, and shows how Tolkien eventually adapted them for his own purposes. Discusses the indistinguishable nature of early folkloric references to elves and dwarves, and how Tolkien picked out the characteristics he wished to use for his elves to suit the purposes of his stories.