Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Vol. 45 No. 10/11 - Whole No. 319/320, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

Vol. 45 No. 9 - Whole No. 318, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

Vol. 45 No. 7/8 - Whole No. 316/317, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

Vol. 45 No. 6 - Whole No. 315, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

Vol. 45 No. 5/6 - Whole No. 313/314, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

Vol. 45 No. 3 - Whole No. 312, Ginger Mcelwee

Mythprint

Mythprint is the monthly bulletin of the Mythopoeic Society, a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the study, discussion and enjoyment of myth and fantasy literature, especially the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams. To promote these interests, the Society publishes three magazines, maintains a World Wide Web site, and sponsors the annual Mythopoeic Conference and awards for fiction and scholarship, as well as local and written discussion groups.

The Stolen Gift: Tolkien And The Problem Of Suicide, Martin Lockerd

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

The treatment of suicide in Tolkien’s narratives about Middle-earth—a topic surprisingly neglected by critics—helps to clarify one aspect of the relationship between Tolkien’s secondary world and his distinctly Christian view of primary reality. His writings capture the tragic pathos of self-destruction while developing and unfolding a larger, competing ethos of self-sacrifice and service to life. In order to explain the development of this life-affirming ethic, I begin by considering the paradoxical nature of death in Tolkien’s mythology as the “gift” of a benevolent creator. Next, I analyze prominent examples of suicide in The Silmarillion and the early legendarium more broadly. …

Delving Too Greedily: Analyzing Prejudice Against Tolkien's Dwarves As Historical Bias, Mitchell T. Dennis, Kenton Sena

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

Tolkien's writings are imbued with the perspectives of their narrators and within them, the narrators' biases. This is most evident in the bias against the dwarves, particularly in the third age. Dismissing testimonials from neutral sources and dwarves alike, scholars have continuously inaccurately treated the anti-dwarf bias as a criticism of the Dwarves’ relationship with nature. The criticisms levelled by scholars have led to the dwarves being dismissed as particularly environmentally destructive, a direct contradiction to how the dwarves interact with natural spaces and how they construct their own. Consequently, a more nuanced reading of the dwarves lends itself to …

Blood On The Snow, Soot On The Carpet: Belief As Pedagogy In Terry Pratchett’S Hogfather, Michael A. Moir Jr.

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

In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, children largely refuse to conform to the ideas that adults form about them as a class. While the adults of the Discworld seem to regard childhood as a time of innocence and wonder, the children who inhabit Pratchett’s universe show themselves to be violent, cynical, manipulative, and naturally skeptical of any phenomena which they cannot directly sense. As such, when the beloved seasonal figure of the Hogfather, a former Winter Solstice deity transformed over time into a gift-giving fat man with a taste for sherry and pork-pies, is assaulted by entities who want to make …

Primitive Mythology (The Masks Of God, Volume 1) By Joseph Campbell, Phillip Fitzsimmons

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

No abstract provided.

Primitive Mythology (The Masks Of God, Volume 1) By Joseph Campbell, Phillip Fitzsimmons

Faculty Articles & Research

Book review of Primitive Mythology (The Masks of God, Volume 1) by Joseph Campbell, reviewed by Phillip Fitzsimmons.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Terry Pratchett’S Witches Novels And The Consensus Fantasy Universe: A Feminist Perspective, Clair J. Hutchings-Budd Ms

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

Abstract

Between 1987 and 2015, Terry Pratchett published eleven novels and one short story within his Discworld universe that came to be known as his “Witches” sub-series. In these texts he engaged with the narrative imperatives, preoccupations, and tropes which together make up the consensus fantasy universe, and those deeper mythologies and legendarium with which the author necessarily has an intertextual relationship. This paper focuses upon one aspect of that consensus universe, which is the difference between male and female magical practitioners—witches and wizards—in the fantasy canon, and how Pratchett sought to challenge and subvert the stereotypes of the genre …

The Unicorn Trade: Towards A Cultural History Of The Mass-Market Unicorn, Timothy S. Miller

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

As genre fantasy congealed around a Tolkienian core in the middle decades of the 20th century, two fantastical creatures emerged as the dominant emblems of the form: the dragon and the unicorn. Either one might serve to adorn genre labels on the spines of library books, or act as the colophon for a publisher’s fantasy line. Dipping in and out of touchstone texts in the fantasy tradition such as Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn and Michael Bishop’s Unicorn Mountain, this essay will commence a preliminary exploration of the wider mass cultural adoption of one of these two creatures, …

The Felix Culpa In Tolkien's Legendarium: A Catalyst For Character And Reader Transformation, Nathan C J Hood

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

Examines the role of the felix culpa, or ‘happy fault’, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium. The article argues that this motif, originating within the Christian theological tradition, was adapted by Tolkien into the guiding structure of Middle-earth’s grand narrative. It shows the importance of the felix culpa in Tolkien’s secondary world by analysing the trope’s role in the Ainulindale and The Silmarillion. It then moves to consider the ways in which the presence of happy faults in The Lord of the Rings has a transformative impact upon the morality and spirituality of its characters and readers.

Mythopoesis In Tennyson's Idylls Of The King, Rebecca A. Umland

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

This essay examines mythopoesis in Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. This epic Arthurian poem includes features of the futuristic and fantasy genres and confounds linear time. The poet creates an imaginary geography—one steeped in history and myth—for the arrival and departure of his remarkable hero, Arthur. Moreover, through the mythopoesis of his epic poem, Tennyson’s King is more than human, differing in both degree and kind from his knights. The bookend poems that open and close the combined Idylls represent two of Tennyson’s boldest departures from the received legend that emerged out of the Middle Ages.

Wizards And Woods: The Environmental Ethics Of Tolkien’S Istari, Kenton L. Sena, Philip J. Vogel

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

Tolkien’s wizards are some of the most interesting and impactful characters in The Lord of the Rings, sent to Middle-earth to inspire the free peoples to resist Sauron. Principal among the Istari are Gandalf and Saruman, both of whom feature prominently in the events of The Lord of the Rings. A much more minor role, however, is played by Radagast the Brown, who appears only in passing mentions in The Hobbit and serves almost as a messenger in The Lord of the Rings. These three Istari enable an interesting discussion of environmental relationships, with Radagast and Saruman portrayed as failures …

Gollum From Medieval Tragedy To Liberal Tragedy In J. R. R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Masoud Tadayoni, Mohsen Hanif

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

J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium represents different archetypal myths that constitute a diverse treasury of literary genres. Tragedy in variegated forms also appears in many of his mythological tales and characters. Gollum in The Lord of the Rings experiences a unique instance of tragedy when it is compared with Tolkien’s earlier sketches of the genre. We demonstrate that the character Gollum sustains a twofold type of tragedy that originates from Tolkien’s perception of medieval and modern spirits of thought. Raymond Williams in Modern Tragedy draws upon historical traditions of tragedy to survey different characteristics of “modern tragedy”. According to him, the cornerstones …

Sentience And Sapience In The One Ring: The Reality Of Tolkien’S Master Ring, Larry L. Burriss

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

In this paper, the author proposes J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ring of Power actually possesses (within the fantasy “frame”) both sentience (consciousness) and sapience (the ability to think and act). Numerous other writers have investigated the literary and mythic origins of the One Ring, but there appears little discussion, beyond its creation, of how and why the Ring does what it does. The author here uses Tolkien’s own writing (rather than the myriad of fan speculation or the numerous adaptations of the Tolkien canon) to show the One Ring has, within the frame of the story, an innate ability to think and …

The One Ring Of King Solomon, Giovanni Carmine Costabile

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

Tolkien source criticism has long been looking for the source of the One Ring in the wrong places. Neither the historical ispiration from World War II and the Atomic Bomb nor the proposed literary influences such as the Ring of the Nibelungs, Wagner's Ring, or the several examples of invisibility rings found in world literature may suffice to explain the complexity of Tolkien's unique creation. Nonetheless, the same cannot be said so easily with regards to another possible source once we survey the richness of the related legends: it is the fabled signet ring of King Solomon.

The Dragon And The Railway Station, Verlyn Flieger

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

The curious substitution of Bletchley Station for Paddington Station between two versions of “On Fairy-stories” may have a simple origin in Tolkien’s interest in code-breaking, but on investigation (as with most things Tolkien-related) goes deeper.

Thinking Queerly: Medievalism, Wizardry, And Neurodiversity In Young Adult Texts By Jes Battis, Marisa Mills

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

This is my review of Jes Battis's book Thinking Queerly: Medievalism, Wizardry, and Neurodiversity in Young Adult Texts. Battis’s book reads beautifully and easily, even if you are not well-versed in disability studies or queer theory, and I imagine that even a reader who is not especially knowledgeable about either medievalisms or YA literature could also follow along well. This book is written in an uncommonly accessible, even conversational style, that is utterly enthralling, and yet Battis’s work still shows impressive scholarly rigor and scope. If I were to describe the book in a single sentence, it would be this …

George Macdonald In The Age Of Miracles: Incarnation, Doubt, And Reenchantment By Timothy Larsen, James Hamby

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

No abstract provided.

Harry Potter And The Other; Race, Justice And Difference In The Wizarding World, Edited By Sarah Park Dahlen And Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, And Open At The Close: Literary Essays On Harry Potter, Edited By Cecelia Koncharr Farr, Joseph R. Young

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

This is a review of the book Harry Potter and the Other; Race, Justice and Difference in the Wizarding World edited by Sarah Park Dahlen and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas.

The Medieval Mind Of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped A Great Mind By Jason M. Baxter, Josiah Peterson

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

In his new book, The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis, Jason Baxter identifies the medieval thought and practices, and many of the specific medieval authors and texts, just below the surface in Lewis’s popular writings and argues that Lewis “was not a successful modernizer of Christianity and writer of fiction despite the fact that he spent so much time studying old, dusty books, but because of them.” (6)

Discovering Dune: Essays On Frank Herbert’S Epic Saga., Edited By Dominic J. Nardi And N. Trevor Brierly, G. Connor Salter

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

G. Connor Salter reviews Discovering Dune: Essays on Frank Herbert’s Epic Saga, edited by Dominic J. Nardi and N. Trevor Brierly, considering its new contributions to studies of Frank Herbert's work. Essays included fit into four categories (Politics and Power, History and Religion, Biology and Ecology, and Philosophy, Choice and Ethics) and range from Herbert's use of ecology in Dune to how game theory may help explain certain characters' apparent ability to see the future. Discovering Dune also includes an appendix which contains the only up-to-date bibliography of Herbert's work (primary and secondary sources).

Mythmaking Across Boundaries, Edited By Züleyha Çetiner-Öktem, Sarah Beach

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

No abstract provided.

The Lord Of The Rings Tarot Deck And Guide By Casey Gilly And Tomas Hijo, Emily E. Auger

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

Review of

The Lord of the Rings Tarot Deck and Guide. Casey Gilly (author) and Tomás Hijo (artist). San Rafael, CA: Insight Editions, 2022. 78-card deck and folded guide sheet. $27.99. ISBN 978-1- 64722-809-5.

The Map Of Wilderland: Ecocritical Reflections On Tolkien’S Myth Of Wilderness By Amber Lehning, Maria K. Alberto

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

No abstract provided.

Superman In Myth And Folklore By Daniel Peretti, And The Mythology Of The Superhero By Andrew R. Bahlmann, David L. Emerson

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

Reviews of Superman in Myth and Folklore and The Mythology of the Superhero