Modern Literature Commons^™

Front Matter

CouRaGeouS Cuentos: A Journal of Counternarratives

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Tolkien, "The Battle Of Maldon," And "The Homecoming Of Beorhtnoth": Poetic Allusions And The Experience Of Time, Anna Smol

Journal of Tolkien Research

J.R.R. Tolkien’s alliterative verse play, “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’ s Son,” is his critical and creative response to the Old English poem “The Battle of Maldon.” Tracing his influence on “Maldon” criticism through his “Ofermod” essay, which posits a continuum of alliterative poems dealing with the nature of heroism, from Beowulf to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the discussion then turns to how Tolkien can claim a place in that tradition and how critics have applied his ideas about war and heroism to some of his other works, especially The Lord of the Rings. An analysis …

The Catholic Imaginations Of J.R.R. Tolkien And Oscar Wilde, Frazier A. Johnson

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

This paper uses terminology from The Catholic Imagination by Andrew Greeley to explore the influence of Catholicism on the writings of Oscar Wilde and J.R.R. Tolkien. Greeley asserts that Catholics see metaphors for the transcendent in matter, value community within a well-ordered hierarchy, and sanctify suffering—qualities that abound in the writings of Wilde and Tolkien. I begin with short biographical sketches of both authors, paying special attention to Wilde’s and Tolkien’s varied involvement with orthodox Catholicism. I then move into a discussion about both authors’ aesthetic philosophies and the similar value they see in art. Next, I detail the authors’ …

The Wizard Of Mecosta: Russell Kirk, Gothic Fiction, And The Moral Imagination, By Camilo Peralta, G. Connor Salter

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

Camilo Peralta’s The Wizard of Mecosta gives the first detailed look at Russell Kirk’s fiction, from his ghost stories to his three gothic novels. While the work particularly emphasizes Kirk’s gothic influences, Peralta also explores references to T.S. Eliot and Charles Williams in his fiction, as well as comments in his nonfiction about Lewis and Williams writing “tales of the preternatural.” The discussion provides important material for seeing Kirk as an Inklings-influenced author.

The Phantomwise Tarot And Guidebook, By Erin Morgenstern, Emily E. Auger

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

Review of The Phantomwise Tarot and Guidebook [78 pp, illustrated]. Morgenstern, E. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers. An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. © 2022. ISBN 978-0-593-57911-4. $24.99.

Virtual Bonds And Transformed Homes: Diaspora And Ict In Inaam Kachachi’S The Dispersal, Asmaa S. Altalafeeh, Yousef Abu Amrieh

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Objective: This research aims to explore the significant impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on literary representations of diasporic experiences, particularly focusing on its role in connecting immigrants worldwide. Methodology: The study employs an analytical approach to examine the influence of ICT on diasporic literature. Key Findings: The findings reveal that ICT has played a crucial role in reshaping the concept and portrayal of diasporic experiences in literature. In Inaam Kachachi’s novel The Dispersal (2023), Iskander’s technological skills highlight ICT's potential to maintain family connections. He uses technology to preserve his family’s history by creating a virtual graveyard, allowing …

On Province And Empire In My Ántonia And One Of Ours: Cather’S 1922 The Waste Land, Paul A. Olson

Department of English: Faculty Publications

Willa Cather profoundly alters her attitude towards the American experiment, World War I, and the prospect of cultural pluralism in America between her 1918 My Antonia and her 1922 One of Ours. In doing so, she addresses the issue of what kind of culture America should have: a monistic one such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson advocated or a pluralistic one. In My Antonia, set during the period of Great Plains settlement but extending up into World War I, she presents an intact American cultural pluralism: non-English speaking European cultures continuing their positive practices absent the monarchic repression …

Pathos, Fall 2024, Portland State University. Student Publications Board

Pathos

Editor: Adriana Stanzione

Science Fiction, Eng 2420, Syllabus And Course Outline, Jason W. Ellis

Open Educational Resources

This Science Fiction, ENG2420 syllabus and course outline was written for an online, asynchronous class taught in the Department of English at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY. It was designed to compliment the OER Yet Another Science Fiction Textbook (YASFT) and have a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) approach with readings and viewings found primarily through the Internet Archive. The course follows a historical approach to the science fiction genre covering the Origins of Science Fiction, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Proto-SF, Pulp SF, SF Film Serials, Golden Age SF, SF Film Through the 1950s, New Wave …

Roots And Refuge: A Critical Exploration Of Nature In Black Visual Narratives, Desiree Cueto, Wanda Brooks, Susan Browne

College of Education Departmental Research

This article examined the underrepresentation of Black characters in children’s picture books, particularly in natural settings, and its effect on Black children’s relationship with nature. Through an analysis of four contemporary picture books, the study revealed how visual depictions challenge these exclusions and expand narratives about Black engagement with the natural world. Utilizing visual semiotics and the theory of Black Aliveness, this research underscores the transformative power of illustrations by Black artists in enriching children’s literature and advancing joy.

The Language Of Suffering: A Review Of Ghost Words And Invisible Giants By Lheisa Dustin, Jill Darling

Criticism

Ghost Words and Invisible Giants by Lheisa Dustin. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2021. Pp. 308. $133.00 hardback.

“And Each Day After They Did Likewise.” Looking At Life Together As The Fulcrum Of Éowyn’S And Faramir’S Love Story, Christian S. Trenk

Journal of Tolkien Research

The love story between Éowyn and Faramir in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is sometimes misunderstood as a patriarchal submission of the Rohirric shieldmaiden. This paper contradicts such interpretations, exploring instead how Tolkien subtly constructs their love as a liberating experience for Éowyn. In the looks they cast separately, at each other, as well as together, Éowyn's inner healing is expressed, enabling the love to Faramir, and both their eventual wholeness.

Timeless Review Of Into The Woods And The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Anjali Shah

be Still

This essay is a review of the musical, Into the Woods, and the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This personal reflection is an overview of how both works of art navigate the theme of "the web of life."

Unleashing Hegemonic Horizons In Kavita Kane’S Cultural Literary Landscape, Durga R

Theses and Dissertations

Mythology cannot be defined as a set of stories but these stories culturally bind, and make people understand their tradition. It also serves as a conduit of worldview and makes people realise their position in the cosmos. Mythopoeia is the art of myth-making that either a new myth is created or some alterations are made in the point of view or identity of the characters after adapting the framework from the original. The present research aims to explore the presence of cultural hegemony in the select works of the Indian mythopoeic writer Kavita Kane.

Kavita Kane (1966) is a former …

Do Androids Dream Of Bad Tv?: Un/Originality In Neil Burger’S Voyagers, Tom Ue, Callum M. Mcnutt

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Critics did not take kindly to Neil Burger’s Voyager (2021). On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored a dismal 25%, and the consensus is that it’s a trip best not taken: “It has a game cast and a premise ripe with potential, but Voyagers drifts in familiar orbit rather than fully exploring its intriguing themes.” This article seeks neither to reclaim the film as an unjustly neglected cinematic masterpiece nor to assert its importance in the canon of dystopian works. Rather, it treats Voyagers as a test case for exploring our own critical investment in the genre. Our aims are …

Ecoaldeas As A Critical Dystopic Landscape, Meagan Elizabeth Cobb Heath

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation centers on the following three dystopic works from Spain: the novella “2084. Después de la Revolución” by Elia Barceló, the novel Cenital by Emilio Bueso, and the Netflix series La valla directed by Daniel Écija. I contend that the ecoaldea in each of these works is not merely a setting, but rather is an experimental space from which solutions to current crises (primarily the climate crisis) can be created and tested. The intersectional theoretical framework used to analyze this assertion is based on science fiction, dystopic studies, ecocriticism, and postgrowth imaginaries. Each chapter addresses: (1) how the society …

Future Library: Hopepunk Heroism, Joanna Pascoe

Heroism Science

Future Library (Paterson, 2014-2114) is viewed through the lens of the heroic imagination and heroism in community. The heroic vision includes an artist, writers, a forest, public architecture, and the city of Oslo. As the project grows, so does its community, across the world, encouraging transformative thinking for all. Future Library is an art installation created by Katie Paterson, described thus: “A forest in Norway is growing. In 100 years it will become an anthology of books. Every year a writer is contributing a text that will be held in trust, unpublished, until the year 2114. The texts will be …

Una Casa Para Una: Construyendo Identidades Políticas Y Bilingüismo En A House Of My Own: Stories From My Life De Sandra Cisneros, Vanessa M. Lent

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

Este trabajo examina la construcción de la identidad política bilingüe y feminista en la obra autobiográfica de Sandra Cisneros, A House of My Own: Stories from My Life (2016). Cisneros, una autora chicana, explora las intersecciones de identidades como mujer y latina en los Estados Unidos, utilizando el bilingüismo como una herramienta para representar el espacio cultural intersticial que ocupa. Se analiza el uso del español en la obra, destacando cómo las inclusiones sirven para construir esa representación del espacio intersticial y enfatizar las diferentes perspectivas e identidades asociadas con el conocimiento de idiomas distintos.

El estudio se centra en …

Estranging The Novel: Poland, Ireland, And Theories Of World Literature, John A. Merchant

Modern Languages and Literatures: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Katarzyna Bartoszyńska prefaces her innovative project pairing a series of “anomalous” (or “freakish”) Polish and Irish novels with epigraphs from Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy on the power of storytelling (“let the people tell their stories their own way”) and Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire about Stanley's Polishness (“They're something like the Irish, aren't they? [. . .] Only not so—highbrow?”). The seeming disconnect between these two quotations signals a central tension between the universal and the particular at the heart of Estranging the Novel: Poland, Ireland, and Theories of World Literature. Bartoszyńska's book is organized around four pairs …

Islas De Resistencia: Pensamiento Archipielágico En Las Poéticas Canarias Y Caribeñas Del Siglo Xxi, Laura García García

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores contemporary literary manifestations in the Canary Islands and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, with a stronger focus on the islands of Tenerife and Puerto Rico. Through an archipelagic approach, this study delves into the analysis of Los lenguas cortadas (2020) by Cirilo Leal, Boat People (2005) by Mayra Santos-Febres, Panza de burro (2020) by Andrea Abreu and PR3 Aguirre (2018) by Marta Aponte Alsina. The analysis states that these literary works build alternative forms of affective archives of archipelagic memory. In this sense, the objects of study participate into a sort of “poetics of resistance,” resignifying racial, ethnic, and …