English Language and Literature Commons^™

But I Made You Look: Mysticism, Desire, And The Refusal Of The Literal, Züleyha Çetiner-Öktem

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

In response to the review of her edited collection in Mythlore #142, the author elucidates her decision to provide only a vague description of a controversial piece of art.

Tolkien’S Tune For “Namárië” Is An Actual Gregorian Chant, Nancy Martsch

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

In response to Tom Emanuel’s essay on the Tolkien Society’s Enyalië ceremony (Mythlore #146), notes the origin of Tolkien’s tune for the poem.

Tolkien’S Exceptional Visit To Holland, Revisited: An Acquaintance With Maartje Draak, Bart Jaski, Kris Swank

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

This note revisits J.R.R. Tolkien’s trip to the Netherlands, March 28-31, 1958, including his attendance at the Rotterdam Hobbit-maaltijd (“Hobbit Meal” or “Hobbit Dinner”), and afterwards. It focuses specifically on his interactions with Prof. Dr. Maartje Draak, a prominent Dutch Celticist. Although Prof. Draak is not mentioned in René van Rossenberg’s paper, “Tolkien’s Exceptional Visit to Holland: A Reconstruction” (Mythlore 1996), items from Prof. Draak’s archives at Utrecht University and an offprint paper she sent to Tolkien in 1959 allow us to recover Tolkien’s acquaintance with this important Dutch scholar, to enhance our picture of the famous Hobbit Dinner, …

Credit Where Credit’S Due: Douglass Parker And J.S. Ryan, Matthew Thompson-Handell

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

This Note presents evidence that J.S. Ryan's 1966 essay on Germanic influences on Tolkien plagiarized some content in Douglass Parker's 1957 review essay on The Lord of the Rings "Hwaet, We Holbytla."

Tolkien's Invasion Of Dragons, Ian Gunn

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

Throughout his life, Tolkien’s works demonstrate a particular interest in the heroic legendary past and how the memory of such tales can enlighten and vivify society. In his own writings on dragons, adventures, and legendary tales (both historical and fictional), Tolkien participates in the restoration of our memories of the high and the perilous.

The Soldier’S Stigmata, Part I: Habitus And Speaking Of The Future Otherwise In Lois Mcmaster Bujold’S “The Borders Of Infinity”, Andrew Hallam

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

THIS IS A TWO-PART ARTICLE. IN ORDER TO READ OR DOWNLOAD THE OTHER PART, FOLLOW THE LINK AT THE END OF THIS ABSTRACT.

This article will explore the connection between Lois McMaster Bujold’s novella “The Borders of Infinity,” the Aristotelian theory of habitus as developed further in the letters of the Apostle Paul and by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, and the four senses of interpretation of scripture first conceived in antiquity and later refined by medieval philosophers. Habitus as a durable disposition, state, or condition (Aristotle) is a structured and structuring social practice or set of social practices (Bourdieu) that …

Eleanor Arnason’S Fantastic Mitochondrial Humor, Sandra J. Lindow

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

Eleanor Arnason’s Fantastic Mitochondrial Humor

In this essay I explore Brian Attebery’s description of mitochondrial fantasy to explain how humor works in Eleanor Arnason’s short fantastic fiction. Mitochondria are the energy powerhouses in cells. They are symbiotic creatures that once were separate but became an evolutionary part of a female egg cell, providing a history that can be traced to a Mitochondrial Eve. In Fantasy: How It Works, Attebery uses mitochondria metaphorically to explain how fantastic ideas evolve. Attebery describes fantastic mitochondria as “a cellular dynamo that lives within the tissues” of a story (91). He demonstrates how stories lead …

Literary Tributaries: Classical And Romantic Influences In The Wind In The Willows, Landon Burgess Loftin

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

Some interpreters of The Wind in the Willows have suggested that Ratty’s beloved river should be understood as a symbol of the imagination. Whether this is true or not, we may benefit from thinking of Grahame’s own imagination as a river that derives much of its force from both Classical and Romantic tributaries. In what follows, I will explore the lower reaches of these tributaries, not only to contextualize and illuminate The Wind in the Willows, but also to address several persistent questions about its composition and reception. I turn first to the Classical tributary, which flows with the imaginings …

Saunders Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, And The Place Of Magic In Fantasy, Alexander Retakh

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

Welsh writer Saunders Lewis was, just as his almost exact contemporary J.R.R.Tolkien, a politically conservative Catholic with a deep interest in medieval myths. Both authors wrote fantasy based on Celtic tales, such as Lewis's play Blodeuwedd and Tolkien's poem The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. While the latter follows the dicta of Tolkien's own "On Fairy-stories," Lewis created a more modernist work. Despite biographical and ideological similarities, the two approached their sources differently. Tolkien looked for unifying aesthetic principles that he called "unhazy unromantic momentariness," while Lewis used the traditional material to escape the constraints of romantic and realistic …

Fathoming The Mathom-House: Museums And Material Heritage In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Stuart Bowes

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

As a renowned author and philologist, J.R.R. Tolkien has long been associated with the processes of literary transmission performed by libraries and archives. His engagement with the comparable cultural institution of the museum is less evident. By charting the gradual integration of the Michel Delving Mathom-house into Middle-Earth, this paper considers Tolkien’s fictional interpretation of a contemporary museum and how it served to enrich his legendarium. It first traces the textual history of this collecting institution from its marginal addition in the drafts of The Hobbit to its considered treatment in The Lord of the Rings. A pivotal development …

Lothlórien: Gendered Spaces, Cartographic Nominalism, And Galadriel’S Queerness, Bo Kampmann Walther

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

Tolkien’s portrayal of Lothlórien is layered with complexities that reflect broader tensions between the feminine landscape and the masculine impulse to understand, name, and rationalize the world. This article examines the ‘fight’ over Lothlórien and its entitlement to truth from both female and male perspectives. It combines a close reading of passages from The Fellowship of the Ring with theories of name-giving, power, and mapping. The article concludes by evaluating these insights through the lens of Kristeva’s concept of the “abject” and discussing what ‘queer’ might mean in the Tolkien oeuvre.

Unknowing In Tolkien's Legendarium And The Agnosia Of The Elvish Tradition, Benjamin Blakeslee-Drain

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

The many layers of Unknowing in Tolkien’s legendarium make some of the most profound statements in his work. Unknowing creates space for the reader to have a more active and intimate experience with the text, and supports the central Christian moral message in The Lord of the Rings. The theme of Unknowing ties the legendarium to a larger set of scriptural and Christian writings, including the Book of Job, Mystical Theology, and The Cloud of Unknowing. Finally, Unknowing is shown to be a function of the legendarium reflecting a dominantly Elvish perspective. By dismissing the assumed authority of that perspective, …

Tolkien On Kennings And The River-(Woman’S) Daughter, Derek Simon

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

THIS IS A TWO-PART ARTICLE. IN ORDER TO READ OR DOWNLOAD THE OTHER PART, FOLLOW THE LINK AT THE END OF THIS ABSTRACT.

While the River-daughter is a prevalent poetic name for Goldberry, Tom introduces her as the River-woman’s daughter when singing and skipping along the banks of the Withywindle. The River-woman variant occurs only once in Goldberry’s narrative but is not easily dismissed. The contrast between the two variant names raises several questions on how to read Goldberry’s enigma. Tolkien’s brief commentaries on the kenning as a poetic device serve as the starting-point for exploring the literary function of …

“Desirable Lady” Or “She Who Desires”: Examining Aredhel’S Agency In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Lyra Keran Zhang

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

As Tolkien scholarship develops through the years, studies that focus on women in the Legendarium thrive. Among the many Tolkienian female characters who have received more attention and goodwill, Aredhel, the White Lady of Gondolin, is ‘often overlooked, under-analysed, and even maligned’, as pointed out by Clare Moore. Some have read her as a ‘fridged woman’, a symbolic female disruption that is the direct cause of the Fall of Gondolin, or else as a supportive character to Maeglin, her son, who seems to be more significant in the grand scheme of the Legendarium. Many have treated her with pity, perceiving …

Editorial, Janet Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Call To Submissions Volume 74, Issue 1, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviving Independent Reading: A Review Of Just Read It, Cinde Wollenberg

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Just Read It: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms by Jarred Amato in 2024. Reviewed by a high school Reading Specialist, this thorough review of Amato's book for educators includes many strategies and tools for having an effective independent reading program in the classroom.

Letting Students Amaze Us: Teaching For Success In A 4th Grade Classroom, William D. Smyth

Virginia English Journal

A look back at a year in a 4th grade classroom with highly motivated students that came about when a former student, now 48 years old, returned home to visit his 4th grade teacher. According to this student, this was the seminal year that launched his engineering career that he now enjoys in Portland, Oregon. And, speaking for others, this was the turning point in his classmates' educational journeys too.

Fixing Our Failures With Data: Data Literacy And Global Issues In A Middle School Novel Study, Mary Grace Scartz

Virginia English Journal

This paper explains the rationale behind and need for teaching data literacy approaches in an English classroom. It outlines a unit of study based on the book by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohammad, When Stars are Scattered, which follows the true story of Omar as he navigates education and family responsibilities in a refugee camp in Kenya. Because of the relevant and important global challenges that arise in the story, students need a wealth of background knowledge to approach the text. This paper argues that this background knowledge is best delivered through the use of real-world data about refugees …

Language As Power In Angeline Boulley's Firekeeper's Daughter, Liz Shanks

Virginia English Journal

Angeline Boulley's Firekeeper's Daughter offers a fresh counternarrative for students in the ELA classroom, opening new doors for students to see themselves and others more accurately reflected in a thrilling, page-turning novel. This article dives into the way power manifests in educational systems, and how students can advocate for themselves in such educational settings through Boulley's novel.