
Splintered Light
Logos and Language in Tolkien's World
Verlyn Flieger(Editor)
Kent State University Press
Will be published approx. on 30. January 2002
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-87338-744-6 (ISBN)
Description
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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Kent, OH
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 150 mm
Width: 225 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-87338-744-6 (9780873387446)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/1998
The Kent State University Press
€12.99
Available for download

Verlyn Flieger
Splintered Light
E-Book
01/1998
The Kent State University Press
€12.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
12/1983
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
€26.81
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Verlyn Flieger is professor emerita of English at the University of Maryland where she teaches courses on Tolkien, medieval and modern literature, and comparative mythology. She has written three books on Tolkien: Splintered Light, A Question of Time, and Interrupted Music (all published by The Kent State University Press). She has also edited a critical edition of Tolkien's novella Smith of Wootton Major, and an expanded edition with notes and commentary of Tolkien's most influential theoretical essay, On Fairy-Stories.