Tolkien: A Critical AssessmentFew attempts have been made to arrive at a sober assessment of Tolkien's achievement as a literary artist, and even fewer to define a place for him in twentieth-century literature. This book is a comprehensive and discriminating introduction to Tolkien's work which also aims to redress these deficiencies in earlier criticism. Two chapters are devoted to The Lord of the Rings: a third explores the bewildering profusion of shorter works; the last considers the significance of Tolkien's life and career in the century of modernism. |
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achieved aesthetic Aragorn beauty Beren and Lúthien Bilbo Bliss Bombadil Carpenter century chapter characters complex conception creative critics culture dark Denethor desire dialogue distinctive Dwarves earlier effect Elves Elvish emotional English episode especially essentially evil Fairy Stories Faramir Farmer Giles Fëanor fiction Frodo Gandalf glimpse Gollum Gondor grey hobbits human images imaginary imaginative invented world irony J. R. R. Tolkien journey King land landscape language later Leaf by Niggle Letters literary look Lord Lothlorien Lúthien Melkor Merry modern moral Mordor Morgoth mountains narrated narrative novel novelistic Númenor orcs passage perspective Pippin plot poem Pony prose quest reader realism Rings Rivendell Road to Middle-Earth romance Saruman Sauron sense sentence Shippey Shire Silmaril Silmarillion Smith of Wootton song structure style stylistic suggests tale Théoden Tom Bombadil tower Tree and Leaf twentieth-century Valar values verse vision Witch-king Wootton Major work's writers