Representing Middle-earth
Tolkien, Form, and Ideology
Published on 21. December 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
198 pages
978-0-7864-7037-2 (ISBN)
Description
In such classic works as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien depicts a vast, complex world-system. Tolkien's Middle-earth comes to life with intensely detailed historical, geographical, and multicultural content, which is presented through different poetic forms that combine elements of epic, romance, myth, history, and the modern novel. This book analyzes Tolkien's project, paying attention to narrative form and its relation to social contexts, while also exploring his broader philosophical conception of history and the role of individual and collective subjects within it. Tolkien's published and posthumous writings, the film adaptations, and recent scholarship are all examined to provide an enlarged and refined critical perspective of these major works. Drawing upon Marxist literary theory and criticism, Robert T. Tally Jr. calls into question traditional views of race, class, morality, escapism, and fantasy more generally. Through close readings mixed with theoretical speculation, Representing Middle-earth allows readers see Tolkien's world, as well as our own, in a new light.
Reviews / Votes
"In this original and inspiring book, Robert Tally gives us the Marxist criticism of Tolkien that he has long deserved. Transcending stereotypes fostered equally by piously apostolic readings and academic snobberies, Tally shows us how Tolkien recognized social complexity, experienced history and modernity, and comprehended that even the Orcs want to get away from the Big Bosses. Written in an accessible, involving style, Representing Middle-earth shows us both a Tolkien we did not know before and a world that can tremendously gain from reading Tolkien wisely."-Nicholas Birns,. New York University, author of The Literary Role of History in the Fiction of J. R. R. TolkienMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
298 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-7037-2 (9780786470372)
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
Person
Robert T. Tally Jr. is a professor of English at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
Content
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Perilous Realm in an Era of Multinational Capitalism
Strange Bedfellows: Tol-kien and Marxist Literary Criticism
Towards a Literary Cartography of -Middle-earth
On the Shadowy Marches of Faerie
1.?"Almost it seemed that the words took shape": Narrative, History, and the Desire Called Marx
"The theatre of my tale is this earth"
In the Hall of Fire
"Endless untold stories"
2.?Formulae of Power: Generic Discontinuities in the Saga of the Jewels and the Rings
Harmonizing Heterogeneous Narrative Paradigms
Modern Epics
"The starry sky is a map of all possible paths"
The Red Book of Westmarch
"A more or less mediocre, average English gentleman"
The Cauldron of Story
3.?Three Rings for the Elven Kings: Trilogizing Tol-kien in Print and Film
"There is no real division into 3": Defining Trilogy
"The rhythm or ordering of the narrative": Trilogizing The Lord of the Rings
"Too much hobbitry": The Hobbit as a Film Trilogy
An Artificially Ordered World
4.?The Geopolitical Aesthetic of -Middle-earth: Space, Cinema, and the World System in The Lord of the Rings
"I wisely started with a map"
The Eye of Sauron
The Conspiracy of the Ring
Geopolitical Fantasy
5.?The Politics of Character: The Dark Lord, the -Witch-Queen, and the White Wizard
Sauron, Healer of -Middle-earth
Galadriel, -Witch-Queen of Lorien
Song of Saruman
"Satan fell": Ethics as False Consciousness
6.?Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs: Simple Humanity in -Middle-earth's Inhuman Creatures
"Whence they came or what they were"
No More Big Bosses!
Human, -All-Too-Human
Orcs' Untold Stories
7.?Demonizing the Enemy: Monstrosity, Ethics, and the Sense of the World Wars
Manufacturing Monsters
Sympathy for the Devils
After the Wars
8.?"Places where the stars are strange": Fantasy, Utopia, and Critique
Surveying the Great Schism
"The world as it appears under the sun"
Reflections on Magic
Beyond Good and Evil
The Fantastic Is Good to Think With
Conclusion: "We should not neglect the red dragons"
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Perilous Realm in an Era of Multinational Capitalism
Strange Bedfellows: Tol-kien and Marxist Literary Criticism
Towards a Literary Cartography of -Middle-earth
On the Shadowy Marches of Faerie
1.?"Almost it seemed that the words took shape": Narrative, History, and the Desire Called Marx
"The theatre of my tale is this earth"
In the Hall of Fire
"Endless untold stories"
2.?Formulae of Power: Generic Discontinuities in the Saga of the Jewels and the Rings
Harmonizing Heterogeneous Narrative Paradigms
Modern Epics
"The starry sky is a map of all possible paths"
The Red Book of Westmarch
"A more or less mediocre, average English gentleman"
The Cauldron of Story
3.?Three Rings for the Elven Kings: Trilogizing Tol-kien in Print and Film
"There is no real division into 3": Defining Trilogy
"The rhythm or ordering of the narrative": Trilogizing The Lord of the Rings
"Too much hobbitry": The Hobbit as a Film Trilogy
An Artificially Ordered World
4.?The Geopolitical Aesthetic of -Middle-earth: Space, Cinema, and the World System in The Lord of the Rings
"I wisely started with a map"
The Eye of Sauron
The Conspiracy of the Ring
Geopolitical Fantasy
5.?The Politics of Character: The Dark Lord, the -Witch-Queen, and the White Wizard
Sauron, Healer of -Middle-earth
Galadriel, -Witch-Queen of Lorien
Song of Saruman
"Satan fell": Ethics as False Consciousness
6.?Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs: Simple Humanity in -Middle-earth's Inhuman Creatures
"Whence they came or what they were"
No More Big Bosses!
Human, -All-Too-Human
Orcs' Untold Stories
7.?Demonizing the Enemy: Monstrosity, Ethics, and the Sense of the World Wars
Manufacturing Monsters
Sympathy for the Devils
After the Wars
8.?"Places where the stars are strange": Fantasy, Utopia, and Critique
Surveying the Great Schism
"The world as it appears under the sun"
Reflections on Magic
Beyond Good and Evil
The Fantastic Is Good to Think With
Conclusion: "We should not neglect the red dragons"
Notes
Bibliography
Index