How Did J. R. Tolkien Use European Mythology?

John Leyerle, Jane Chance, and J.R.R. Tolkien all offer different and valuable insight to their respective depictions of Beowulf’s structure. While Chance and Tolkien are accurate in terms of the representation of the monsters and historical references in Beowulf, Leyerle’s argument offers a more inclusive and whole depiction of Beowulf’s structure. Leyerle describes the structure of Beowulf as interlacing. Leyerle’s essay is more cogent than Chance’s and Tolkien’s through the definition of interlace, the significance of digressions, and historical allusions presented in the poem.

In the essay, “The Corruption of Power,” by Agnes Perkins and Helen Hill, their primary focus is proving how The Ring entices some characters, and not others, from wanting power. At the beginning of their essay, the authors pose a question, how does the ring impact the morality of Tolkien’s characters? Their quest in this article is to explore this question. Therefore, Perkins and Hill psychologically evaluate J.R.R. Tolkien’s characters, then place them into categories which classify how much influence the ring and the desire to obtain ultimate power, has over them. In their essay, the authors use this opportunity to explore the dualities of good versus evil, strength versus weakness, the glorious versus the humbled.

It is not a surprise Tolkien was heavily inspired by Anglo-Saxon literature and language and that it has seeped into a lot of his work. The Hobbit is not exception, in that it borrows a lot of influence from Beowulf. The Hobbit visits a lot of themes from Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon culture such as greed, catabasis, and musicality and language, all of which will be explored on this essay. Two of the characters in particular are reminiscent to Beowulf in his both halves of the text; Bilbo would be the young Beowulf proving himself to the reader and the people around him. Thorin would be the old King Beowulf, obsessed with his need for treasure and haunted by greed.

     There are many similarities between the hero of the poem Beowulf and the heroes of the two Icelandic sagas, The Saga of The Volsungs and The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. The former saga is an Icelandic saga representing oral traditions dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun was fighting on the northern fringes of the Roman Empire; the latter is an Icelandic saga representing 1000 years of oral traditions prior to the 1300’s when it was written.

Fairy Folk Tales are the most popular types of literature. The tale is an orally transmitted tradition by generations through the time; some events are changed to fit reality and society. Folk fairy tales deal with the dualism of the good and the evil. They are basing on a conflict between the good and the evil forces. The conclusion comes from aspirations of the human desire to achieve the justices. There are no known authors and sources for ancient literature. We have many versions of the story; they are credited by many authors later. Each tale is very like some other culture’s tale. Each culture has own tales, but all the tales are similar and different in some points. This essay will compare between two

Yuri Watanabe Draft 1 EE Working Thesis: How does the comparison of the traditional hero archetype in Beowulf and the portrayal of heroism in The Hobbit show how Tolkien’s idea of a ‘true hero’ was affected by his experience in the First World War? Now that Peter Jackson created the Hobbit films and immortalized the Hobbit in cinematic history, the original novel itself has now been brought up to question. Due to the mainly-male cast and the importance of the quest in Tolkien’s works, there have been several links made between his own creative writing and the Old English poems that he studied at Oxford. Yet, there are traits in The Hobbit that completely oppose those that are in Beowulf.

Thesis: John Ronald Reule Tolkien’s life experiences influenced his writing, beginning as a student, then a soldier, lexigrapher, professor, and then a writer to his own children; Tolkien’s life created the place known to most as Middle-Earth.

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, vol. 25, no. 95/96, ser. 13, 15 Oct. 2006, pp. 175–196.

Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves and Orcs: A Look at the Life and Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

"Three Rings for the Eleven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his Dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie(Tolkien)." Master of storytelling J.R.R. Tolkien continues the lives of the fictitious creatures that he introduced in The Hobbit, in his modern classic The Fellowship of the Ring. He artfully illustrates the truths of the evil that plague the hearts of man. He tells a story of greed, destruction and how mortal men are enslaved by

Professor’s Comment: This student was very wise not to summarize Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The student’s primary intention was to describe the ethical themes that can be found in the book. The first part of this essay describes Tolkien's view on the nature of good and evil, while the second part deals with his ethics of individuals. Excellent work!

Tolkien’s The Silmarillion is rife with battles between good and evil, these diametric ideals are what make this fantasy mockup of the bible a compelling and interesting book. The relationships between different peoples and the tension those relationships create are fueled by the binary opposition of what is considered good and evil. Tolkien was a literary scholar and payed abrupt attention to the appellation of places and people and the affect the supposed locution of the cultural groups within the novel. A central element that drives the work’s exploration of its theme includes suggestions of the dualism of good and evil and the different ways evil corrupts good. The opening of “Ainulindalë” establishes the potential for a dualist

Incorporating traditional Anglo Saxon beliefs of heroism with the image of Christ on the cross allows the poet of The Dream of the Rood to effectively communicate the benefits of Christianity to pagan warriors. By comparing characteristics, duties, and treatment of heroes in Beowulf and the Battle of Maldon to the depiction of Christ in The Dream of the Rood, it becomes evident that the image of Christ is altered to mirror that of heroic warriors. Through this melding of heroic beliefs and Christianity, the poet of Rood is able to show how Christ can become the ultimate ring giver or Lord.

     One of the masters of British Literature, J.R.R. Tolkien was able to create a fantasy world with an endless supply of parallelisms to reality. The fantasy world was found in the “Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien is able to create wonderful symbolism and meaning out of what would otherwise be considered nonsense. He creates symbolism and meaning by mastering his own world and his own language. To understand the symbolism of The Ruling Ring, or The One Ring, one must understand the events, which take place from the time of the ring’s creation until the time

Audry Hepburn once said, “If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales, and I like them best of all.” Often, a child’s first introduction to literature begins with fairy tales and which tends to resonate with them years later. Fairy tales then become a story that is inspiring for children and nostalgic for adults. The fairy tale story varies in definition between critics, yet it is always a form of fantasy. J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy novels The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion follow clear structural patterns common among fairy tales. One story in particular, “Of Beren and Lúthien” found within The Silmarillion, was originally to be Tolkien’s epic poem titled The Lay