Representing Middle-earth

Tolkien, Form, and Ideology

Häftad, Engelska, 2023

689 kr

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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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2023-12-21
Mått152 x 229 x 10 mm
Vikt272 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor198
FörlagMcFarland & Co Inc
ISBN9780786470372

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Table of ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Perilous Realm in an Era of Multinational CapitalismStrange Bedfellows: Tolkien and Marxist Literary CriticismTowards a Literary Cartography of Middle-earthOn the Shadowy Marches of Faërie1. “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 RingsHarmonizing Heterogeneous Narrative ParadigmsModern 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 Story3. Three Rings for the Elven Kings: Trilogizing Tolkien 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 TrilogyAn Artificially Ordered World4. 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 SauronThe Conspiracy of the RingGeopolitical Fantasy5. The Politics of Character: The Dark Lord, the Witch-Queen, and the White WizardSauron, Healer of Middle-earthGaladriel, Witch-Queen of LórienSong of Saruman“Satan fell”: Ethics as False Consciousness6. 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-HumanOrcs’ Untold Stories7. Demonizing the Enemy: Monstrosity, Ethics, and the Sense of the World WarsManufacturing MonstersSympathy for the DevilsAfter the Wars8. “Places where the stars are strange”: Fantasy, Utopia, and CritiqueSurveying the Great Schism“The world as it appears under the sun”Reflections on MagicBeyond Good and EvilThe Fantastic Is Good to Think WithConclusion: “We should not neglect the red dragons”NotesBibliographyIndex

“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. Tolkien