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Title: | Beowulfian resonance in Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ |
Authors: | Cilia, Matthew (2021) |
Keywords: | Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation Mythology, Germanic, in literature Beowulf -- Criticism, Textual Epic poetry, English (Old) Intertextuality |
Issue Date: | 2021 |
Citation: | Cilia, M. (2021). Beowulfian resonance in Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (Bachelor's dissertation). |
Abstract: | The purpose of this dissertation is to outline the intertextual resonance of the Anglo-Saxon poem 'Beowulf' in Tolkien’s 'The Lord of the Rings'. Since Tolkien held the chair for Anglo-Saxon studies when he was a professor in Oxford, he drew inspiration upon both Germanic mythological tales and Anglo-Saxon literature in his creation of a mythopoeic body. In creating a national mythology for England that is composed of a Northern atmosphere, it would make sense to address the elements in 'Beowulf', rather than literary Classics, that resurface in Tolkien’s trilogy. These Beowulfian elements are looked at through a tripartite relationship that the chapters focus upon individually. A philological perspective in namecraft that Tolkien adapts from the Germanic setting and narrative of 'Beowulf' will illuminate how and why Tolkien’s landscape of Middle-earth was a way to recapture and renew the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian cultures through a fictional lens. Succeeding that, the resurgence of the Northern heroic character embodied by Beowulf will be discussed in the nature of the Tolkienian characters, and how the ‘theory of courage’ was adapted to connect his story to that of the past. To conclude with, the blending of Christian and Pagan elements in a mythopoeic structure will reveal how Tolkien structured a narrative that is similarly presented in Beowulf, and how the representation of these secular and mythic structures create a link to the poet’s Epic. |
Description: | B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/82276 |
Appears in Collections: | Dissertations - FacArt - 2021 Dissertations - FacArtEng - 2021 |
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21BAENG005.pdf Restricted Access | 962.71 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open Request a copy |
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