Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

Tolkien Fanzine Dataset, 1967-2017 [Bulk 1969-1979], Robinson Ensz, Gabriel Marotto, Aidan Oakey, Ivy Stanich, Ethan Thomas

Tolkien Resources

This dataset reveals the heretofore hidden contents of fan magazines (fanzines) related to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien that were created from 1969 through the publication of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion in 1977. It supplements the earlier Tolkien Fandom Review by S. Gary Hunnewell that discussed fanzines created through 1968. The dataset provides an item level index of the fanzines’ content and is intended to aid researchers in Fan Studies. It is accompanied by an inventory document that lists the fanzine titles and provides brief notes about some of them. Data was drawn from Marquette’s large holding of Tolkien fanzines, including …

Love Conquers Death: Mythological Subversion And Emotional Triumph In “The Tale Of Beren And Luthien”, Sam Baughn

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Though The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings sit at the forefront of J.R.R. Tokien’s expansive legendarium, there is one work that sits at the center of his expansive world. Published as chapter 19 of The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien, also referred to as The Tale of Beren and Luthien is the beating heart of Tolkien’s mythology. It is perhaps his most important work, consistently developed over the course of his life. It is a true mythological epic, a story of good and evil, monsters and heroes, great treasure and constant peril. More than anything it is …

Environmentalism In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, Sophie Butler

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

The theme of environmentalism within Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, while sometimes underlying, is an ever-present background to the characters and actions of Middle-Earth.The hero’s movements through nature contrasted with the criminal destruction of nature by the villains presents two clear perspectives about the treatment of nature, but Tolkien also inserts his perspective through the inclusion of Tree characters, like Ents. Trees and tree characters are an essential part of Tolkien's legendarium that help to illuminate the author's claims about environmentalism and the impacts of progress on the world. How characters interact with nature inform their ethics and point …

The Impacts Of Dune And The Lord Of The Rings On American Culture, Nick Collins

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

The middle third of the 20th century was a time of hyper-aggressive industry, invention, and progressivism. This portion of the 1900s was instrumental toward shaping modern popular culture. Two of the predominant works were J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings and Frank Herbert’s political science fiction novel Dune. Both works inspired massive cult followings upon their release and grew in popularity largely due to the anti-war movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. They have each inspired countless works of inspiration that include some of the most popular movies and games from the 1970’s through the modern …

The Tragedy Of Krudhog The Cruel: A Horrid Tale Best Never Told At All, Eric Ramos

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

What have I to tell you, unlucky one, of this vision brought before me? Hear it here that I, Othur Lokbrok, do not speak with a voice of my own, but rather echo the Sisters Weird, come to me one night in a passion and fury beyond all earthly resemblance. Thereupon that cursed night was I, awake and trembling, for out of a dream my spirit raised itself vigilant, as hushed voices seemed to seep and slither eerily through my window. Then in the dark at the foot of my bed a dampened candle glowed red hot as three faces, …

Theatrical Weddings And Pious Frauds: Performance And Law In Victorian Marriage Plots, Adrianne A. Wojcik

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study investigates how key Victorian novelists, such as Anne and Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy, emphasize performativity in their critiques of marriage. Given the performative nature of wedding ceremonies, this project focuses on wedding descriptions in select novels by the aforementioned authors. Such a focus highlights an interesting dilemma. Although we often think of Victorian novels as overwhelmingly concerned with marriage, the few wedding descriptions found in Victorian fiction are aborted, unusually short or announced after the fact. Those Victorian novelists who do feature weddings often describe them …

Impact Of Tuberculosis On Victorian England, Cara Caputo

Maria Dittman Library Research Competition: Student Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Changing The Victorian Habit Loop: The Body In The Poetry And Painting Of Dante Gabriel Rossetti And William Morris, Bryan Gast

Dissertations (1934 -)

Founded in England in 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood rebelled against Victorian artistic convention and sought to recapture a medieval style of painting believed by its members to have existed before Raphael. That style was a significant departure from the prevailing Royal Academy style, however, and—as many critics note—ahead of its time. Among the Pre-Raphaelites, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris were unique for their creative output as both poets and painters. This dissertation examines the representation of the body in some poems and paintings by Rossetti and Morris and analyzes the impact of the Pre-Raphaelites on habits of thinking about …

Challenging Classical Legacy: Virginia Woolf' Mythical Method In To The Lighthouse, Alex Rucka

Maria Dittman Library Research Competition: Student Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Tolkien's Middle-Earth: Race Personified Through Orcs, Colleen Fessler

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

From the time of Middle-earth’s creation, a complex society of hierarchies has existed both within and among the different races and creatures in Tolkien’s world. The race-constructed hierarchies speak to the way in which the different races understand themselves and those around them, just as people do in today’s modern society. While embarking on the journeys of this world with Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, with Frodo and the fellowship’s journey across Middle-earth to destroy the ring and Sauron in Mordor in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and from the creation of Arda and Middle-earth until the Third …

In A World With No Religion, How Did It Become So Christian? Christianity Within The Lord Of The Rings, Rhiley O'Rourke

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Goblins, Greed, And Goodness: The Symbolic And Narrative Degradation Of Goblins Within The Hobbit, Katelyn Stine

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Throughout The Hobbit, J.R.R Tolkien establishes a variety of races that range on a diverse scale of good and evil. Within this spectrum, Goblins are portrayed as being the most evil in comparison to every other race on Middle Earth. Tolkien utilizes a variety of literary devices -from a repeated symbolic association with fire to their physical intolerance to environmental elements such as sunlight- to establish the complete disconnection between the Goblins and the natural world. This detachment allows their race as an entirety to become the embodiment of evil, which functions as a plot device throughout the narrative. Goblins …

J.R.R. Tolkien And His Influence On Modern Fantasy Writer Tamora Pierce, Alexandria Curry

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien’s writing of female and racial minority characters has been criticized as misogynistic and racist by many critics of Tolkien. However, these critics come to these conclusions due to the limited quantity of these characters overall, especially those of the female sex, and their involvement in the overall story’s plot. Tolkien uses women sparingly and because of this, each one has important characteristics and roles that they play. Therefore, if not invalidating the critics position on his supposed misogynistic views, then, at least, dissolving some of their support platforms. However, the roles that the women play are important in understanding …

Tolkien, Fandom, And Priorities, Melissa Conroy

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Songs In Middle-Earth, Ellory Busch

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Eowyn As Queen, Brian Scheidt

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

The Inherent Goodness Of Gardens And Their Stewards, Dj Castillo

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Realism And Idealism In Decision-Making: A Case Study Of Tolkien’S And Jackson’S Ents And Elves, Max Bertelotti

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Attempting to fight Sauron without the Ring of Power is, of course, fruitless. Nearly all the characters in the Lord of the Rings understand this. While many readers debate the reasoning and logic behind sending Frodo and Sam alone into Mordor, few debate the reasoning for each specific race of Middle Earth to become involved in the fight against Sauron. Given Sauron’s impeccability and resilience, any non-destruction-of-the-Ring attempt at defeating Sauron must categorically be deemed infeasible. It fails logic then that, with a few exceptions, each race that the reader encounters in the Lord of the Rings finds it necessary …

The Prominence Of Pippin, Jasmine Sunderlage

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

When building a fictional world as involved and vast as that of J.R.R. Tolkien’s multiple drafts are a must in order to work out the exact details and to make sure that all the possible loose ends are tied up and addressed. Characters can come and go, change in temperaments and in how involved they are when it comes to the story itself. Whereas some characters may start of as highly involved in the plot, they may become nothing other than a supporting character after going through multiple drafting processes. For other characters, however, they may start as a walk-on/walk-off …

The Anti-War Adoption Of Lord Of The Rings, Kayla Spencer

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

Ten years after Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was first published in 1954, an unexpected party discovered Middle-earth. America’s counterculture adopted the series, despite its largely conservative, patriarchal, and militant ideologies. Tolkien himself was not fond of the hippie movement, calling them his “deplorable cultus” (Helms 7). Although always adamant that his books were not allegory, the hippies found it anyway and applied his art to their own agendas. Second-wave feminists understood Eowyn’s refusal to let her romantic interest and her father determine her fate, as well as her fear of being kept in a cage and unable to …

Dominion: Examining The Subject Of Power In Tolkien, Kieran Moriarty

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

The discussion of power and one’s use of it in literature is far from a novel one. This is especially so regarding how one uses power to rule others. Two notable and conflicting ways to rule are using one’s power over the ruled, to keep control of them, and using one’s power for the ruled, by helping and supporting them. The clash between these two can be seen as early as the first book of the Jewish and Christian bibles, wherein God gives humans “dominion over…all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth,” asking them …

The Heir And The Treasure: The Grammatical Construction Of Aragorn And Arwen, Rachel Landsem

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

No abstract provided.

Cronstadt Castle [Supplemental Material], Sarah Crompton, Wendy Fall

Gothic Archive Supplemental Materials for Chapbooks

No abstract provided.

Between Subject And Tech Expertise: Collaborating With Faculty For Digital Humanities Projects [Presentation], Rose Fortier, Heather G. James, Wendy Fall

Library Faculty Research and Publications

Libraries are well-positioned for partnership with digital humanities efforts in several ways. The management of digital items and the description of information resources for future researchers make libraries natural partners in digital humanities projects. Often Humanities scholars will reach out to the library for support or even guidance in these projects.

At Marquette University, the Gothic Archive exemplifies the development of this collaboration. Though the Archive started as a humble collection of digitized and transcribed gothic chapbooks, it is being developed into an interwoven collection of digitized materials and contextual objects and promises to become a full-fledged digital humanities tool. …

A Single Man Of Good Fortune: Postmodern Identities And Consumerism In The New Novel Of Manners, Bonnie Mclean

Dissertations (1934 -)

In my dissertation, I argue that the novel of manners, while sometimes considered a moribund genre, presents itself as a genre relevant to contemporary criticism of social change from consensus politics to privatization both at governmental and domestic levels. I establish both key terms, cultural and theoretical trends, and define the novel of manners in context as a historical genre and a contemporary one. I further explore the novel of manners as a commentary on social and moral problems, particularly in tensions between social morality and individual morality that emerge when manners break down, a concept originally highlighted by Henry …

Saving The Grotesque: The Grotesque System Of Liberation In British Modernism (1922-1932), Matthew Henningsen

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation re-situates the grotesque in a critical tradition that emphasizes its function as a liberating force, rather than its traditional role as an arouser of terror and amusement. I then apply the grotesque liberation to the High Modern literary environment of Britain in order to reveal the grotesque dimensions of this period. To accomplish these goals of re-situating the grotesque, and applying the grotesque to High Modernism, I create a so-called "Grotesque System of Liberation." This system consists of three stages (the Symbolic, Real, and Non-Symbolic Symbolic) that trace a specific text's progress from a state of illusory stability …

Sarah Wilkinson: Female Gothic Entrepreneur, Diane L. Hoeveler

Gothic Archive: Related Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Apocalyptic Mentalities In Late-Medieval England, Steven A. Hackbarth

Dissertations (1934 -)

Apocalypticism, defined by expectation of an imminent End, assumes many forms and proves influential in the second half of the Fourteenth Century in England. Throughout my study, I demonstrate that a rich apocalyptic environment emerges in works of the period, including those of Chaucer, Gower, Langland, and the Pearl-poet. In this period, apocalypticism has provided explanations for plague, narratives that make evil more vivid, and arguments for urgent action. It gives contemporary phenomena special meaning. My study is organized around conspicuous centers of meaning that work reciprocally with the apocalyptic, simultaneously defining the End and defined by it. First, I …

Almagro & Claude [Supplemental Material], Wendy Fall

Gothic Archive Supplemental Materials for Chapbooks

No abstract provided.

Argument In Poetry: (Re)Defining The Middle English Debate In Academic, Popular, And Physical Contexts, Kathleen R. Burt

Dissertations (1934 -)

The core problem that drives my dissertation is to find a definition for what has been called Middle English “debate poetry” that accounts for the wide variety of themes, topics, and styles which poems labeled as ‘debates’ cover. The limitations of overly focused and restrictive definitions of the term ‘debate poetry’ encountered by previous scholars illustrates the initial problem of using a generic term that lacks a common vocabulary or framework for discussion. The result has been that each scholar who investigated a poem linked to this tradition used a different definition suited to his or her particular text(s) of …