Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England

by Jane Chance

Overview

" J.R.R. Tolkien's zeal for medieval literary, religious, and cultural ideas deeply influenced his entire life and provided the seeds for his own fiction. In Tolkien's Art, Chance discusses not only such classics as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, but focuses on his minor works as well, outlining in detail the sources and influences–from pagan epic to Christian legend-that formed the foundation of Tolkien's masterpieces, his "mythology for England."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813138091
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	284
File size:	472 KB

About the Author

Jane Chance is a professor of English at Rice University. She lives in Houston, Texas.

Table of Contents

	Preface and Acknowledgments	vii
	Introduction	1
1.	The Critic as Monster: Tolkien's Lectures, Prefaces, and Foreword	12
2.	The King under the Mountain: Tolkien's Children's Story	48
3.	The Christian King: Tolkien's Fairy-Stories	74
4.	The Germanic Lord: Tolkien's Medieval Parodies	111
5.	The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien's Epic	141
6.	The Creator of the Silmarils: Tolkien's "Book of Lost Tales"	184
	Notes	200
	Select Bibliography	229
	Index	243

Editorial Reviews

The general reader in search of the scholarly roots of Tolkien's fiction together with informed discussion of how those roots nourished the tree will find both here.

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts

Chance's companion volumes on Tolkien are brilliantly written and critically significant. Her understanding of his works is profound, and she convincingly confirms him as a major writer of the 20th century.

Kritikon Litterarum

An attractively presented short study based on an excellent idea, namely that of tracing the nature of the relationship between Tolkien's scholarship in Old and Middle English and his creative writing.

Times Literary Supplement

Examines the sources and influence of Tolkien's work as well as the paradigm of the critic as monster that colors so many of his writings.

Giustificativo

Highly recommended as a serious critical study of Tolkien's works.

Choice

"Highly recommended as a serious critical study of Tolkien's works." — Choice

"Examines the sources and influence of Tolkien's work as well as the paradigm of the critic as monster that colors so many of his writings." — Giustificativo

"The general reader in search of the scholarly roots of Tolkien's fiction together with informed discussion of how those roots nourished the tree will find both here." — Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts

"Chance's companion volumes on Tolkien are brilliantly written and critically significant. Her understanding of his works is profound, and she convincingly confirms him as a major writer of the 20th century." — Kritikon Litterarum

"An attractively presented short study based on an excellent idea, namely that of tracing the nature of the relationship between Tolkien's scholarship in Old and Middle English and his creative writing." — Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher