Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays

by Jason Fisher (Editor)

Overview

Source criticism--analysis of a writer's source material--has emerged as one of the most popular approaches in exploring the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Since Tolkien drew from many disparate sources, an understanding of these sources, as well as how and why he incorporated them, can enhance readers' appreciation. This set of new essays by leading Tolkien scholars describes the theory and methodology for proper source criticism and provides practical demonstrations of the approach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786487288
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	09/07/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	663 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jason Fisher is an independent scholar specializing in J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, and Medieval Germanic philology. He is also the editor of Mythprint, the monthly publication of The Mythopoeic Society, and has written for Tolkien Studies, Mythlore, Beyond Bree, North Wind, Renaissance, and other publications.
Jason Fisher is an independent scholar specializing in J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, and Medieval Germanic philology. He is also the editor of Mythprint, the monthly publication of The Mythopoeic Society, and has written for Tolkien Studies, Mythlore, Beyond Bree, North Wind, Renaissance, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Abbreviations     
Preface
Jason Fisher     

Introduction: Why Source Criticism?
Tom Shippey     
Source Criticism: Background and Applications
E. L. Risden     
Tolkien and Source Criticism: Remarking and Remaking
Jason Fisher     
The Stones and the Book: Tolkien, Mesopotamia, and Biblical Mythopoeia
Nicholas Birns     
Sea Birds and Morning Stars: Ceyx, Alcyone, and the Many Metamorphoses of Eärendil and Elwing
Kristine Larsen     
“Byzantium, New Rome!” Goths, Langobards, and Byzantium in The Lord of the Rings
Miryam Librán-Moreno     
The Rohirrim: “Anglo-Saxons on Horseback”? An Inquiry into Tolkien’s Use of Sources
Thomas Honegger     
William Caxton’s The Golden Legend as a Source for Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
Judy Ann Ford     
She and Tolkien, Revisited
John D. Rateliff     
Reading John Buchan in Search of Tolkien
Mark T. Hooker     
Biography as Source: Niggles and Notions
Diana Pavlac Glyer and Josh B. Long     

About the Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

an intriguing work that provides another angle on one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century”—Midwest Book Review; “well-written and well-edited volume...excellent...can serve as a how-to guide for both research and writing”—Beyond Bree; “the collection will be of interest to scholars and dedicated readers of Tolkien...the essays are well documented”—Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts; “This critical collection provides a solid defense of the sometime-maligned literary discipline of ‘source-hunting’ along with outstanding examples of the value of this approach in understanding the depths of Tolkien’s literary creation.”—Douglas A. Anderson, author of The Annotated Hobbit; “A valuable book for anyone serious about Tolkien. It not only adds new, confirming material to what is known about Tolkien’s sources but covers areas of influence previously denied or underplayed.”—Marjorie J. Burns, author of Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien’s Middle-earth; “The most exhaustive examination yet published of demonstrable, probable, and conjectural sources for Tolkien’s legendarium.”—Verlyn Flieger, author of Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien’s World.

From the Publisher