This volume analyzes the literary role played by history in the
works of J. R. R. Tolkien. It argues that the events of The Lord of
the Rings are placed against the background of an already-existing
history, both in reality and in the fictional worlds of the books.
History is unfolded in various ways, both in explicitly archival
annals and in stories told by characters on the road or on the fly,
and in which different visions of history emerge. In addition, the
history within the work can resemble, or be patterned on histories
in our world. These histories range from the deep past of
prehistoric and ancient worlds to the early medieval era of the
barbarian invasions and Byzantium, to the modern worlds of urbane
civility and a paradoxical longing for nature, and finally to great
power-rivalries and global prospects. The book argues that Tolkien
did not employ these histories indiscriminately or reductively.
Rather, he regarded them as aspects of aesthetic and representative
figuration that are above all literary. While most criticism has
concentrated on Tolkien’s use of historical traditions of
northern Europe, this book argues that Tolkien also valued Southern
and Mediterranean pasts and registered the Germanic and the
Scandinavian pasts as they related to other histories as much as
his vision of them included a primeval mythic aura.
General
Imprint: |
Taylor & Francis
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature |
Release date: |
December 2023 |
First published: |
2024 |
Authors: |
Nicholas Birns
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
248 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-03-259768-3 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
1-03-259768-2 |
Barcode: |
9781032597683 |
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