Tolkien's Art: a Mythology for England

Tolkien's Art: a Mythology for England

Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973 -- Knowledge -- England
Fantasy literature, English -- History and criticism
Epic literature, English -- History and criticism
Medievalism -- England -- History -- 20th century
Mythology, Germanic, in literature
Middle Earth (Imaginary place)
Fairy tales in literature
Mythology in literature
England -- In literature

As a scholar of medieval literature and a lover of Germanic and Finnish mythologies in particular, J.R.R. Tolkien was "grieved by the poverty" of legend and myth in his own beloved culture. Inspired by works like Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tolkien's fiction relied on both pagan epic and Christian legend to create a mythology for England evident in both his major works of fiction like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and his minor stories and critical essays. Revised and expanded, Jane Chance's study examines the sources and influences of Tolkien's works as well as the paradigm of the critic as monster that colors so many of his writings."--Jacket.

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."

Jane Chance

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