Douglas Allen Anderson

Verlyn Flieger

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien's "On Fairy-stories" is his most-studied and most-quoted essay, an exemplary personal statement of his views on the role of imagination in literature, and an intellectual tour de force vital for understanding Tolkien's achievement in the writing of The Lord of the Rings."On Fairy-stories" comprises about 18,000 words. What is little-known is that when Tolkien expanded the essay in 1943, he wrote many more pages of his views that were originally condensed into or cut from the published version. An estimate is difficult, but these unpublished passages perhaps amount to half again as much writing as the essay itself. Included in this new critical study of the work are:,*An introductory essay setting the stage for Tolkien's 1939 lecture (the origin of the essay) and placing it within a historical context.,*A history of the writing of 'On Fairy-stories', beginning with coverage of the original lecture as delivered, and continuing through to first publication in 1947.,*The essay proper as published in corrected form in Tree and Leaf (1964).,*Commentary on the allusions in the text, and notes about the revisions Tolkien made to the text as published in Tree and Leaf.,*Important material not included in the essay as published, with commentary by the editors.

Tolkien on Fairy-stories

Devoted to Tolkien, the teller of tales and co-creator of the myths they brush against, these essays focus on his lifelong interest in and engagement with fairy stories, the special world that he called fa�rie, a world they both create and inhabit, and with the elements that make that world the special place it is. They cover a range of subjects, from The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings and their place within the legendarium he called the Silmarillion to shorter works like "The Story of Kullervo" and "Smith of Wootton Major." From the pen of eminent Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger, the individual essays in this collection were written over a span of twenty years, each written to fit the parameters of a conference, an anthology, or both. They are revised slightly from their original versions to eliminate repetition and bring them up to date. Grouped loosely by theme, they present an unpatterned mosaic, depicting topics from myth to truth, from social manners to moral behavior, from textual history to the micro particles of Middle-earth. Together these essays present a complete picture of a man as complicated as the books that bear his name--an independent and unorthodox thinker who was both a believer and a doubter able to maintain conflicting ideas in tension, a teller of tales both romantic and bitter, hopeful and pessimistic, in equal parts tragic and comedic. A man whose work does not seek for right or wrong answers so much as a way to accommodate both; a man of antitheses. Scholars of fantasy literature generally and of Tolkien particularly will find much of value in this insightful collection by a seasoned explorer of Tolkien's world of fa�rie.

More Essays on Tolkien

There Would Always be a Fairy-tale

J. R. R. Tolkien is perhaps best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but it is in The Silmarillion that the true depth of Tolkien's Middle-earth can be understood. The Silmarillion was written before, during, and after Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A collection of stories, it provides information alluded to in Tolkien's better known works and, in doing so, turns The Lord of the Rings into much more than a sequel to The Hobbit, making it instead a continuation of the mythology of Middle-earth. Verlyn Flieger's expanded and updated edition of Splintered Light, a classic study of Tolkien's fiction first published in 1983, examines The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings in light of Owen Barfield's linguistic theory of the fragmentation of meaning. Flieger demonstrates Tolkien's use of Barfield's concept throughout the fiction, showing how his central image of primary light splintered and refracted acts as a metaphor for the languages, peoples, and history of Middle-earth.

Logos and Language in Tolkien's World

Splintered Light

“Shows how Finnish mythology and folk tales were instrumental to how Tolkien created his own legendarium.”—Boston Globe Kullervo, son of Kalervo, is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters. “Hapless Kullervo,” as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and tried three times to kill him when he was still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and the magical powers of the black dog Musti, who guards him. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruelest of fates. Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was “the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own,” and was “a major matter in the legends of the First Age.” Tolkien’s Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, the tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. Published with the author’s drafts, notes, and lecture essays on its source work, the Kalevala, The Story of Kullervo is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien’s invented world. “A fascinating read.”—NPR

The Story Of Kullervo

Near the village of Little Wicken, a baby girl is found abandoned in a field. Unwanted and unloved, the foundling grows up, existing on the grudging charity of the villagers. It is only when they notice her way with animals that the girl is given a permanent place—as a pig herder—and a name: Mokie, meaning “Little Pig Girl.” After a brutal attack by the village boys, fifteen-year-old Mokie flees with her beloved pig, Apple, into the heart of the mysterious Wickenwood. It is there that Mokie meets a trio of Gypsies, who take her under their wing. But she soon discovers that her new friends are more than they appear to be. Could they hold the key to her past. . .and her future? In her debut novel, Verlyn Flieger weaves elements from Celtic mythology into an unforgettable tale that explores universal truths about the human condition—society’s need for scapegoats, the yearning to belong, and love’s transcendent power to make the world anew. Thought-provoking, unflinching, and original, Pig Tale will break your heart, and utterly astonish you.

Pig Tale

Tolkien made a continuous effort over several years to construct a comprehensive mythology, to include not only the stories themselves but also the storytellers, scribes, and bards who were the offspring of his thought. In Interrupted Music Flieger attempts to illuminate the structure of Tolkien's work, allowing the reader to appreciate its broad, overarching design and its careful, painstaking construction. --from publisher description.

The Making of Tolkien's Mythology

Interrupted Music

Carl F. Hostetter

When J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, he left behind a vast body of unpublished material related to the imaginary world of his fiction. Now arranged edited and published as The History of Middle-earth by his son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, these 12 volumes offer an unparalleled insight into the growth of Tolkien's mythology over five decades. This book is the first comprehensive critical examination of The History of Middle-earth. An opening easy by Rayner Unwin, Tolkien's publisher for many years, discusses the publication history of the material, while essays by expert contributors examine a broad range of topics related to the work.

Essays on The History of Middle-earth

Tolkien's Legendarium

Douglas A. Anderson

Michael D. C. Drout

Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review centers on J.R.R. Tolkien and his works. Since the publication of The Hobbit in 1937 the writings of Tolkien have been admired throughout the world. With the publication of The Lord of the Rings in the 1950s, Tolkien's fantasy writing began to attract academic attention in both the classroom and the world of scholarship. Most recently, Peter Jackson's three-part movie adaptation has added film-study scholars to those fascinated by Tolkien's work. Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press for the purpose of presenting and reviewing the growing body of critical commentary and scholarship about Tolkien's writings. The founding editors, Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D.C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger, and the members of the editorial board, David Bratman, Carl F. Hostetter, Tom Shippey, Richard C. West, and Marjorie Burns, are all distinguished Tolkien scholars.

Tolkien Studies

Cette édition augmentée et mise à jour d'Une Lumière éclatée (oeuvre publiée pour la première fois en 1983) est une étude du monde de Tolkien à travers, principalement, Le Silmarillion. Verlyn Flieger a effectué un immense travail pour montrer comment Tolkien a imaginé particulièrement, les différents peuples, toutes les langues et comment il a organisé un monde très élaboré et très construit. Le Silmarillion, publié bien après la parution de Bilbo le Hobbit et du Seigneur des Anneaux, est la clef qui permet de comprendre la construction du monde de la Terre du Milieu, c'est une carrière à l'état brut dans laquelle on peut puiser sans fin. Le Silmarillion est la pierre angulaire de tout l'univers de Tolkien, c'est le mythe parent. Par une analyse des étymologies des noms des elfes notamment, par l'importance donnée à l'origine des peuples de la Terre du Milieu, par l'analyse fine et délicate des conditions de création de l'univers de Tolkien, Verlyn Flieger donne à comprendre bien plus que l'apparence de l'oeuvre majeure qu'est Le Seigneur des Anneaux et entraîne le lecteur dans un monde infiniment captivant. Une Lumière éclatée est un livre limpide, indispensable à une compréhension plus profonde du monde créé par Tolkien.

Logos et langage dans le monde de Tolkien

Une lumière éclatée

In 'Green Suns and Faërie', author Verlyn Flieger, one of world's foremost Tolkien scholars, presents a selection of her best articles - some never before published - on a range of Tolkien topics. Divided into three distinct sections, this study explores Tolkien's ideas of sub-creation, his reconfiguration of the medieval story tradition and his place within the context of the 20th century and 'modernist' literature.

Essays on Tolkien

Green Suns and Faërie

Tolkien's concern with time - past and present, real and faerie - captures the wonder of travel into other worlds and other times. This work shows that he was not just a mythmaker and writer of escapist fantasy but a man whose relationship to his own century was troubled and critical.

Verlyn Flieger

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