Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power

by Jane Chance

Overview

Written during the rise of Nazi Germany and the subsequent world war, J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings chronicles the war against a Dark Lord whose mission is the domination of Middle-earth. Revised and significantly expanded for a new generation of Tolkien readers, Jane Chance's classic guide to the Lord of the Rings series explores its "mythology of power" by placing the epic within the twentieth-century context of Tolkien's life and times. By examining the interrelationships among themes of power, language, and politics, Chance argues that the popularity of the trilogy stems from its celebration of the individual differences of the marginalized and disenfranchised, typified in the insignificant figure of the hobbit as Everyman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813138015
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	10/26/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	257 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

Table of Contents

	Note on the References and Acknowledgments	vii
	Chronology: J.R.R. Tolkien's Life and Works	ix
1.	Introduction: A Voice for the Dispossessed	1
2.	"Queer" Hobbits: The Problem of Difference in the Shire	26
3.	The Political Hobbit: The Fellowship of the Ring	38
4.	Knowledge, Language, and Power: The Two Towers	59
5.	Power and the Community: The Return of the King	95
6.	Conclusion: Heroic Narrative and the Power of Structure	128
	Notes	139
	An Annotated Bibliography: Recommended Works by and about Tolkien	145
	About the Author	153
	Index	155

Editorial Reviews

Chance's companion volumes on Tolkien are brilliantly written and critically significant. Her understanding of his works is profound, and she convincingly confirms him as a major writer of the 20th century.

Kritikon Litterarum

The author has taken a complex and convoluted masterpiece and dissected it in a clear and concise style. Fans of Tolkien's classic will welcome it.

School Library Journal

Presents a strong case for Tolkien as a mainstream contemporary writer.

Seven

Both provocative and stimulating... provides a rewarding exploration of that web of relationships which defines Middle-earth.

Florida Atlantic University Robert A. Collins

An interesting examination of themes like the value of language and the corrupting effects of a will to power.

Ont.) Artsforum (Oshawa

"An interesting examination of themes like the value of language and the corrupting effects of a will to power." — (Oshawa, Ont.) Artsforum

"Chance's companion volumes on Tolkien are brilliantly written and critically significant. Her understanding of his works is profound, and she convincingly confirms him as a major writer of the 20th century." — Kritikon Litterarum

"Both provocative and stimulating... provides a rewarding exploration of that web of relationships which defines Middle-earth." — Robert A. Collins, Florida Atlantic University

"The author has taken a complex and convoluted masterpiece and dissected it in a clear and concise style. Fans of Tolkien's classic will welcome it." — School Library Journal

"Presents a strong case for Tolkien as a mainstream contemporary writer." — Seven

From the Publisher