Tolkien Through the Eyes of a Mediaevalist Cover Image

Tolkien w oczach mediewisty
Tolkien Through the Eyes of a Mediaevalist

Author(s): Thomas Honegger
Subject(s): Philosophy, Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature, Other Language Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Ośrodek Badawczy Facta Ficta
Keywords: mediaevalism;English literature;Medieval literature;Tolkien;John Ronald Reuel Tolkien;fantasy;fantasy fiction;Lord of the Rings

Summary/Abstract: The Lord of the Rings, ever since its publication, has been something of a nuisance to traditional literary critics and has been maligned often and with zest. The main reason for these strong—and often irrational—reactions are primarily due to the fact that The Lord of the Rings does not fit into the literary mainstream and challenges standard critical assumptions about what a work of twentieth-century fiction should be like. The standard tool-kit of the literary critic seems utterly inadequate. Mediaevalists, in contrast, have often taken a more sympathetic view of Tolkien’s work. Honegger’s article Tolkien Through the Eyes of a Mediaevalist will therefore present several ‘mediaeval’ approaches towards Tolkien, evaluate their critical value and discuss their contribution towards a more adequate understanding of Tolkien’s literary work.

  • Issue Year: 57/2017
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 7-23
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish