The Song of Middle-earth: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Themes, Symbols and Myths

The Song of Middle-earth: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Themes, Symbols and Myths
David Harvey

Available for the first time in paperback, this is the pre-eminent critical study, and exploration, of how myth and legend played such a significant role in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.The Song of Middle-earth takes a fresh look at The Lord of the Rings, digging deep into the foundations of Tolkien’s world to reveal the complex tapestry of history and mythology that lies behind his stories.The charge that Tolkien's work was merely derivative – that he extracted elements from other mythologies and incorporated them into his own fiction – is dismissed in favour of a fascinating examination of the rich historical background to Middle-earth.From the mythic tradition of the Tales told in The Book of Lost Tales: I to the significance of oral storytelling throughout the history of Middle-earth, this book examines the common themes of mythology found within Tolkien’s work.In doing so, The Song of Middle-earth demonstrates how Tolkien’s desire to create a new mythology for England is not only apparent in his writing, but also realised.

THE SONG OF

MIDDLE-EARTH

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Themes, Symbolsand Myths

DAVID HARVEY

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_075232e2-01d6-5c68-9b1a-cedb4547d179)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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London SE1 9GF

www.tolkien.co.uk (http://www.tolkien.co.uk)

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First published in Great Britain by George Allen & Unwin 1985

Copyright © David Harvey 1985

‘Tolkien’

is a registered trade mark of The Tolkien Estate Limited

Cover illustration © J.R.R. Tolkien

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016

David Harvey asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008184810

Ebook Edition © July 2016 ISBN: 9780008184827

Version: 2016-06-17

DEDICATION (#ulink_fc648f16-6557-5929-a188-3576336f5e94)

To my Father and my Wife

with love and thanks

CONTENTS

COVER (#ue32c74b4-7c05-5e4f-b97b-0286602ecd9a)

TITLE PAGE (#u3d65cb94-ef0f-5341-8537-a7a70519efac)

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_d529d421-7c56-51ef-ab3f-bca7d99df7e2)

DEDICATION (#ulink_1169dd0c-1521-5a28-b71f-16d9a9505efb)

PREFACE (#ulink_340da946-2b8c-5397-b92f-c9eb1b2fefcb)

FOREWORD (#ulink_182c2749-4a6f-5247-81d3-83924544f559)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (#ulink_dba34b9c-95e0-5f48-9f85-979927bfe741)

1 A Question of Mythology (#ulink_032f5f63-f871-5a01-ad4a-b295e01cd488)

2 The Myth as Literature (#ulink_b4ca9645-f898-5602-8e84-f26b20ecfd0f)

3 The Music of Ilúvatar: Tolkien and the Major Mythic Themes (#ulink_b1b0fa65-6394-5a00-9236-4537e8a200e0)

4 Wheels within Wheels: The Submyth and Reality (#litres_trial_promo)

5 The Eternal Conflict: Good and Evil in Middle-earth (#litres_trial_promo)

6 The Tragic Hero (#litres_trial_promo)

7 The Quest Hero (#litres_trial_promo)

8 The Importance of Being Eärendil (#litres_trial_promo)

9 Tree and Leaf: The Idiom of Nature (#litres_trial_promo)

10 A Fanfare for the Common Hobbit (#litres_trial_promo)

NOTES (#litres_trial_promo)

INDEX (#litres_trial_promo)

OTHER BOOKS BY (#litres_trial_promo)

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER (#litres_trial_promo)