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Articles 1 - 30 of 130

Full-Text Articles in Modern Literature

From Viðkenning To Valarindi: The Enigma Of Goldberry And The River-Woman, Derek Simon Apr 2026

From Viðkenning To Valarindi: The Enigma Of Goldberry And The River-Woman, 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.

Building upon the previous examination of the eddic and skaldic contours of Goldberry’s River kenning names, this reading of Goldberry’s enigma focuses on the mythological referents of her kinship relations and their narrative consistency in the legendarium.  Tending to the intrinsic connection between “[t]he incarnate mind, the tongue, and the tale” (Tolkien, On Fairy Stories, 41), I contend that the poetics of kenning diction sustain if not demand a reading of the River-woman references mythologically through …


Saunders Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, And The Place Of Magic In Fantasy, Alexander Retakh Oct 2025

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 …


The Influence Of The Pearl-Maiden On The Imagination Of J. R.R. Tolkien, Jane Beal Aug 2025

The Influence Of The Pearl-Maiden On The Imagination Of J. R.R. Tolkien, Jane Beal

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


I’D Rather (S)He Was Dead: Resurrection & Gender Transition In Superhero Comics, Jonathan Sexton, Eitan Runyan Aug 2025

I’D Rather (S)He Was Dead: Resurrection & Gender Transition In Superhero Comics, Jonathan Sexton, Eitan Runyan

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


From Hildeburh To Héra: Recuperating Women’S Presence In Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, And Kenji Kamiyama’S The War Of The Rohirrim, Christopher Vaccaro Aug 2025

From Hildeburh To Héra: Recuperating Women’S Presence In Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, And Kenji Kamiyama’S The War Of The Rohirrim, Christopher Vaccaro

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


The Tragedy Of Arwen Evenstar In “The Tale Of Aragorn And Arwen” And In Her Legacy On Film, Nicole Duplessis Aug 2025

The Tragedy Of Arwen Evenstar In “The Tale Of Aragorn And Arwen” And In Her Legacy On Film, Nicole Duplessis

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


The Lay(Er)S Of The Corrigan, Lelie Brémont Aug 2025

The Lay(Er)S Of The Corrigan, Lelie Brémont

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


“Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans”: Melian’S And Lúthien’S Numinosity, Alexandra Filonenko Aug 2025

“Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans”: Melian’S And Lúthien’S Numinosity, Alexandra Filonenko

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Mythopoeic Awards Ceremony, The Mythopoeic Society Aug 2025

Mythopoeic Awards Ceremony, The Mythopoeic Society

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Our Flag Means Gender: Gender “Fuckery” In Our Flag Means Death, Megan Abrahamson, Dusty Brooks, Cassidy Percoco Aug 2025

Our Flag Means Gender: Gender “Fuckery” In Our Flag Means Death, Megan Abrahamson, Dusty Brooks, Cassidy Percoco

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Bolg’S Mother: Orc Women In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Robert T. Tally Jr. Aug 2025

Bolg’S Mother: Orc Women In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Robert T. Tally Jr.

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Grendel's Mother Talks Back: Contemporary Women's Mythopoeic Revisions, Anna Smol Aug 2025

Grendel's Mother Talks Back: Contemporary Women's Mythopoeic Revisions, Anna Smol

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Revisiting Ambiguous Aredhel, Megan Abrahamson Aug 2025

Revisiting Ambiguous Aredhel, Megan Abrahamson

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Sex, The Body, And Learning Gender: Demons In The World Of The Five Gods, Erin Mcbrien Aug 2025

Sex, The Body, And Learning Gender: Demons In The World Of The Five Gods, Erin Mcbrien

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Desirable Lady’ Or ‘She Who Desires’: Examining Aredhel’S Agency In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Lyra Keran Zhang Aug 2025

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

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Belief After The Death Of King Arthur: Lev Grossman’S Postsecular Portrayal Of Nimue In The Bright Sword, Liz Busby Aug 2025

Belief After The Death Of King Arthur: Lev Grossman’S Postsecular Portrayal Of Nimue In The Bright Sword, Liz Busby

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


She Chose Her Fate: The Genderqueer Women Of Tolkien And Freedom Beyond The Patriarchal Binary, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Grace Moone, Leah Hagan Aug 2025

She Chose Her Fate: The Genderqueer Women Of Tolkien And Freedom Beyond The Patriarchal Binary, Alicia Fox-Lenz, Grace Moone, Leah Hagan

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


“The Gift Which Was Withheld I Take”: The Rape Of The Sun Maiden In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Kristine Larsen Aug 2025

“The Gift Which Was Withheld I Take”: The Rape Of The Sun Maiden In Tolkien’S Legendarium, Kristine Larsen

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


From Once To Future Queen: Revitalizing Guinevere In Recent Arthuriana, Michael A. Torregrossa Aug 2025

From Once To Future Queen: Revitalizing Guinevere In Recent Arthuriana, Michael A. Torregrossa

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Painting “The Most Beautiful Of All The Children Of Ilúvatar”: Aesthetic Beauty In The Silmarillion And Its Illustrations, Marie Bretagnolle Aug 2025

Painting “The Most Beautiful Of All The Children Of Ilúvatar”: Aesthetic Beauty In The Silmarillion And Its Illustrations, Marie Bretagnolle

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Witches, Prophets, And Outcasts: Liminal Women In Mythopoeic Fantasy, Supriya Baijal Aug 2025

Witches, Prophets, And Outcasts: Liminal Women In Mythopoeic Fantasy, Supriya Baijal

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Reimagining Human-Nonhuman Friendships Through Feminist Animal Studies: An Exploration Of Sunny And Della’S Cross-Species Friendship In Nnedi Okorafor’S The Nsibidi Scripts Series, Akshitha Javahar Aug 2025

Reimagining Human-Nonhuman Friendships Through Feminist Animal Studies: An Exploration Of Sunny And Della’S Cross-Species Friendship In Nnedi Okorafor’S The Nsibidi Scripts Series, Akshitha Javahar

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


“Her Hair Was Held A Marvel Unmatched”: The Significance Of Long, Blonde Hair In Tolkien’S Imagination, Sara Brown Aug 2025

“Her Hair Was Held A Marvel Unmatched”: The Significance Of Long, Blonde Hair In Tolkien’S Imagination, Sara Brown

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Keynote: Still Perilous, Still Fair: Perspectives On The Legacy, Or How (Not)Éowyn And (Not) Galadriel Made The Magic Work, Leslie Donovan, Janet Brennan Croft Aug 2025

Keynote: Still Perilous, Still Fair: Perspectives On The Legacy, Or How (Not)Éowyn And (Not) Galadriel Made The Magic Work, Leslie Donovan, Janet Brennan Croft

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

No abstract provided.


Welcome And Announcements, The Mythopoeic Society Aug 2025

Welcome And Announcements, The Mythopoeic Society

Online Midwinter Seminar (OMS)

Join us for a screening of the Welcome and Announcements video and have a cup of coffee before we get started!


Book Culture And Narrative In Martin’S A Song Of Fire And Ice, Maria Damkjær Apr 2025

Book Culture And Narrative In Martin’S A Song Of Fire And Ice, Maria Damkjær

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

What do books represent in G.R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire? This article examines their role as objects and their limitations within a narrative obsessed with loss of knowledge. Books, which are handled, lost, found, read, or destroyed, are both a shorthand for a fantasy world’s material culture, but also a metafictional nod to the reality of the reader. Contemporary fantasy authors, I posit, are both fascinated by texts, and also troubled by their limited chance of survival over the very long periods that the genre tends to sketch. Deep time is hostile to book knowledge, and …


Divinity And The Void In Chinese And Thai Translations Of The Ainulindalë, Eric Reinders Apr 2025

Divinity And The Void In Chinese And Thai Translations Of The Ainulindalë, Eric Reinders

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

This article treats Chinese and Thai translations of the opening lines of the Ainulinalë, not to evaluate their fidelity to the original, but to explore the surplus meanings inherent in those languages. From a close reading of the first line emerge several new variations, including a new reading of the name Eru in Chinese, and a changed linguistic register of the Thai version. In each case there is some attempt to resolve the paradox of Eru as primal deity and Tolkien’s use of lower-case “he”—which one would expect to be “He.” Lacking capital letters, the Chinese and Thai translators use …


Reading, Rending, And Queering The Web Of Story With The Lenses Of “Con-Creation” And Process Theology, Cameron Bourquein, Nick Polk Jan 2025

Reading, Rending, And Queering The Web Of Story With The Lenses Of “Con-Creation” And Process Theology, Cameron Bourquein, Nick Polk

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

“Sub-creation” within Tolkien’s narrative and extra-narrative works is routinely exhibited not as monolithic but rather as (literally and figuratively) polyphonic. In this joint paper Bourquein proposes that the Legendarium can be read through the lens of “con-creation” (total, continuous, collective, creative activity) both internally (as events in the Secondary World) and externally (as both a text and a pseudohistory in the Primary World). This approach levels the playing field between all actors in—and readers of—“The Drama,” providing a queer approach to interpretive-creative activity when compared to “orthodox” doctrines of creation. Polk further argues that con-creation resonates with process theologies of …


The Catholic Imaginations Of J.R.R. Tolkien And Oscar Wilde, Frazier A. Johnson Oct 2024

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 Oct 2024

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.