English Language and Literature Commons^™

Dolphins, Musical…, David Sparenberg

The Mythic Circle

No abstract provided.

Emma Adapted: Jane Austen’S Heroine From Book To Film, Marc Dipaolo

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

"This work of literary and film criticism examines all eight filmed adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma produced between 1948 and 1996 as vastly different interpretations of the source novel. Instead of condemning the movies and television specials as being «not as good as the book,» Marc DiPaolo considers how each adaptation might be understood as a valid «reading» of Austen’s text. For example, he demonstrates how the Gwyneth Paltrow film Emma is both a romance and a female coming-of-age story, the 1972 BBC miniseries dramatizes Emma’s world as claustrophobic and Emma herself as suffering from depression, and the modern-day teen …

Fantastical Fact, Home, Or Other? The Imagined 'Medieval' In C.S. Lewis, Alison Searle

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

Examines the imagined medievalism of Lewis’s That Hideous Strength and the Narnia books, and shows how it reaches the integrated level of myth in the latter while remaining on a more allegorical level in the former.

The Monstrosity Of The Gaze: Critical Problems With A Film Adaptation Of The Lord Of The Rings, Allison Harl

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

Applies the theory of the “gaze” to the audience’s interpretation of Peter Jackson’s films, emphasizing Tolkien’s own characterization of the power of the hypnotic gaze of many of his monsters.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

Feudal Values, Vassalage, And Fealty In The Lord Of The Rings, Colleen Donnelly

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

Examines Tolkien’s themes of service and stewardship, finding a model for the social order of Middle-earth in medieval feudalism and fealty.

Battling The Woman Warrior: Females And Combat In Tolkien And Lewis, Candice Fredrick, Sam Mcbride

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

Examines women in combat in a number of Tolkien’s and Lewis’s works, finding that their portrayals have one thing in common: battles are ugly when women fight.

Finding Woman's Role In The Lord Of The Rings, Melissa Mccrory Hatcher

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

Offers an opposing viewpoint on the “taming” of the woman warrior in Tolkien, suggesting that Éowyn’s rejection of the warrior’s life is a fulfillment of Tolkien’s theme of healing and rebirth rather than a subjection to a male partner.

Through A Dark Lens: Jackson's Lord Of The Rings As Abject Horror, R.D. Hall

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

Shows how Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy makes more sense “read” as horror than fantasy, drawing on definitions of horror from film theory and on Jackson’s own previous work.

Galadriel And Morgan Le Fey: Tolkien's Redemption Of The Lady Of The Lacuna, Susan Carter

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

Looks at Galadriel’s role in the text of The Lord of the Rings—specifically at what is not revealed about her there—finding parallels with the treatment of Morgan le Fey in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the Middle English texts with which Tolkien was most associated as a scholar.

Prince Caspian And Child Christopher And Goldilind The Fair, Robert Boenig

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

A look at the roots of Lewis’s Prince Caspian in William Morris’s Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair (and in turn Morris’s source in Havelok the Dane) investigating the “imaginatively redemptive” changes Lewis made to this source material.

Pullman, Lewis, Macdonald, And The Anxiety Of Influence, William Gray

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

Building on the theoretical framework of Harold Bloom’s The Anxiety of Influence, traces a path of influence and “anxiety” from George MacDonald through C.S. Lewis to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

Beorn And Tom Bombadil: A Tale Of Two Heroes, Paul W. Lewis

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

Compares Tolkien’s Beorn and Tom Bombadil, assessing their functions in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, their characters, and their importance, although they are tangential in their stories, to Tolkien’s themes.

Meaning, Meanings, And Epistemology In C.S. Lewis, Charlie W. Starr

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

Examines some challenging philosophical concepts under Lewis’s guidance, and through its discussion of myth, allegory, and truth, brings us back to the influence of medieval thought on Lewis’s fiction.

The Fall And Repentance Of Galadriel, Romuald Ian Lakowski

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

Fills in some of the gaps of Galadriel’s depiction in The Lord of the Rings with a close examination of her history throughout the development of Tolkien’s legendarium, and particularly Tolkien’s evolving conception of her rebellion and redemption.

The Ogre Blinded And The Lord Of The Rings, Daniel Peretti

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

Applies folk-tale analysis tools to the climactic Mount Doom scene of The Lord of the Rings, finding intriguing roots in the “ogre blinded” motif most familiar to readers from the Polyphemos episode of The Odyssey.

Reviews, David D. Oberhelman, Clark Hutton

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

The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. Reviewed by David D. Oberhelman.

The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All. Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson. Reviewed by Clark Hutton.

Wise Warriors In Tolkien, Lewis, And Rowling, Ernelle Fife

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

Discusses the concept of the wise woman warrior, focusing primarily on Éowyn, Orual, and Hermione Granger but bringing in other characters from the works of Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling as well.

Editorial, Janet Brennan Croft

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

No abstract provided.

"In The Hilt Is Fame": Resonances Of Medieval Swords And Sword-Lore In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit And The Lord Of The Rings, K. S. Whetter, R. Andrew Mcdonald

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

Examines legends and lore of famous swords in medieval Germanic, Norse, Celtic and English literature, and how Tolkien adapted and added them to his rich history in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

"Surely You Don't Disbelieve": Tolkien And Pius X: Anti-Modernism In Middle-Earth, A. R. Bossert

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

The disruption caused by a war of ideas is detailed in this paper on Pope Pius X and the Catholic Church’s response to modernism in the early years of the century, and shows this controversy’s clear influence on Tolkien’s thinking in his letters and fiction.

The Theory And Practice Of Alliterative Verse In The Work Of J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark F. Hall

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

Studies Tolkien’s use of alliterative meter in his poetry, both that embedded in The Lord of the Rings and that published separately elsewhere.

The Shell-Shocked Hobbit: The First World War And Tolkien's Trauma Of The Ring, Michael Livingston

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

Describes the Battle of the Somme and Tolkien’s participation in it. Pointing out the parallels between the battle-scarred landscapes of Northern Europe and Middle-earth, Livingston notes that while they are worth cataloging, it is Tolkien’s nuanced and sympathetic depiction of Frodo’s post-traumatic stress disorder that is the most compelling result of the author’s war experiences. Provides a good overview of Tolkien’s war experiences and his literary response to them.

Lord Dunsany And The Great War: Don Rodriguez And The Rebirth Of Romance, David J. Carlson

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

Considers Lord Dunsany’s response to the Great War and modernized conflict in general in Don Rodriguez. In a pivotal section of this Quixotic romantic adventure, the character of Rodriguez is shown visions of modern war that cause him to question not just his heroic warrior ideals, but the purpose of Creation itself; his following adventures are increasingly in the ironic mode. Rodriguez is able to transcend his experiences in the end.

An Unexpected Guest, Anne Amison

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

Traces the unexpected influence of William Morris’s Icelandic Journals and News From Nowhere on The Hobbit and the world of The Shire.

Dreaming Of Dragons: Tolkien's Impact On Heaney's Beowulf, Felicia Jean Steele

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

On the influence of Tolkien’s Beowulf essay, and his subtle shaping of our current cultural conception of dragons, on Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf.

Myth Maker, Unicorn Maker: C.S. Lewis And The Reshaping Of Medieval Thought, Chad Wriglesworth

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

Deals with Lewis’s use of medieval legends and religious symbolism of the unicorn in two versions of a poem about the Ark and in The Last Battle and The Great Divorce.

From Isolation To Community: Frodo's Incomplete Personal Quest In The Lord Of The Rings, Devin Brown

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

Studies the inner quest that takes Frodo from isolation to community in The Lord of the Rings.

Bombadil's Role In The Lord Of The Rings, Michael Treschow, Mark Duckworth

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

Investigates the oft-maligned Tom Bombadil chapters of The Lord of the Rings, revealing their centrality to Tolkien’s philosophy and Tom’s frequently overlooked symbolic importance at later points in the book.

"Where Is That Worthless Dreamer?" Bottom's Fantastic Redemption In Hoffman's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Frank P. Riga

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

A study of Michael Hoffmann’s reinterpretation of Bottom in his 1999 film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which treats Bottom and his interactions with Faërie seriously rather than farcically and resonates throughout the film in a shifting of focus from the aristocratic court to the dignity of the common man and his worthiness to enter Faërie.