J.r.r. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth
Understanding Middle Earth
Skyhorse Publishing · Print & ebook · August 29, 2023
J.r.r.
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- Who it’s for
- A thoughtful reading of Middle-earth’s religious symbolism and the Christian humanist ideas behind Tolkien’s vision.
- Themes
- Religious symbolism in Middle-earth, Tolkien’s social and political views, Christian humanism
- Genres
- SF & Fantasy Criticism, Religion in the Arts, Writers' Lives
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The War for Middle-earthJoseph Loconte67% match
The Road to Middle-earthTom Shippey66% matchAlso shares SF & Fantasy Criticism
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For younger readers: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hobbit, Across the Rainbow Bridge: Stories of Norse Gods and Humans
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Start with this bookAbout this book
With a new introduction by the author Peter Jackson's film version of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy - and the accompanying Rings-related paraphernalia and publicity - has played a unique role in the disemmination of Tolkien's imaginative creation to the masses. Yet, for most readers and viewers, the underlying meaning of Middle-earth has remained obscure. Bradley Birzer has remedied that with this fresh study.
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In J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth, Birzer reveals the surprisingly specific religious symbolism that permeates Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He also explores the social and political views that motivated the Oxford don, ultimately situating Tolkien within the Christian humanist tradition represented by Thomas More and T.S. Eliot, Dante and C.S. Lewis. Birzer argues that through the genre of myth Tolkien created a world that is essentially truer than the one we think we see around us everyday, a world that transcends the colorless disenchantment of our postmodern age.
Myth and Meaning
A thoughtful reading of Middle-earth’s religious symbolism and the Christian humanist ideas behind Tolkien’s vision.
Come here for
- A closer look at the faith woven through Tolkien’s legendarium
- Connections to Thomas More, T.S. Eliot, Dante, and C.S. Lewis
Expect
- Literary interpretation alongside social and political context
- A case for myth as a way of seeing beyond disenchantment
Where it sits
| Writers' Lives | 60% |
|---|---|
| Religion in the Arts | 43% |
| SF & Fantasy Criticism | 43% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Writers' Lives
- Fairy Tale & Myth Criticism
- Religion in Literature
- Authors
- Bradley J. Birzer
- Publisher
- Skyhorse Publishing
- Published
- August 29, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Religious symbolism in Middle-earth · Tolkien’s social and political views · Christian humanism
- Reading lane
- Writers' Lives