The Fall of Gondolin (2018) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien

Book review by Douglas Charles Kane of The Fall of Gondolin (2018) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkie

‘We don’t need another hero’ – Problematic Heroes and their Function in Some of Tolkien’s Works

This paper discusses the potentially problematic nature of certain forms of heroism in Tolkien’s works and their representatives, such as Túrin Turambar or Beorhtnoth. It analyses not only the problems that may arise on the battlefield from an excess of pride (ofermod), but it also investigates the problem of how to contain and deal with the more aggressive forms of military prowess when its energies are not employed on the battlefield or in fighting an adversary such as a dragon. As will be shown, Tolkien contrasts his ‘unlucky’ heroes implicitly with heroic figures such as Aragorn Elessar, who tempers heroism with humility, wisdom, and self-restraint

From Honor to Ridicule to Shame to Fame: The Naming and Re-Naming of Túrin Son of Húrin

No abstract

Ladies of the Forest: Melian and Mielikki

In this roundtable paper the author compares Melian, the Lady of Doriath, with the mysterious Mielikki of the Kalevala and The Story of Kullervo

Tolkien in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Tom Shippey (2014), edited by John Wm. Houghton, Janet Brennan Croft, Nancy Martsch, John D. Rateliff, and Robin Anne Reid

Book review by Gergely Nagy of Tolkien in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Tom Shippey (2014), edited by John Wm. Houghton, Janet Brennan Croft, Nancy Martsch, John D. Rateliff, Robin Anne Rei

The Fall of Gondolin (2018) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien

Book review by Douglas Charles Kane of The Fall of Gondolin (2018) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkie

The tragedy of Túrin Turambar and Sophocles' Oedipus rex in the narrative of J.R.R. Tolkien

An analysis of the influence of Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex on J. R. R. Tolkien’s narratives about Túrin TurambarAnálisis de la influencia de Edipo Rey de Sófocles en la materia de Túrin Turambar de J. R. R. Tolkie

Peril and Possibility: Wilderness as a Space of Becoming in Tolkien\u27s The Children of Húrin and Whedon\u27s Firefly and Serenity

A tension between wilderness as place of peril and as a place of purity has existed throughout the history of Western civilization. While the Puritan minister Cotton Mather described the wilderness as a habitation of “Dragons,” “Droves of Devils,” and “Fiery Flying Serpents,” Henry David Thoreau maintained that in order to draw near to God, one must draw near to nature. A spectrum of perspectives about wilderness exists within the tension between these two opposing ideas. As a refugee from civilization who makes his home in the wilderness on the borders of society, the Wild Man archetype, famously expressed in the monster Grendel and the noble outlaw Robin Hood, inhabits this spectrum. Both Tolkien’s The Children of Húrin and Whedon’s Firefly and Serenity unfold in settings characterized by being on the border. Furthermore, their heroes are noble outlaws, who choose to live outside of the boundaries of civilization. With these settings and heroes, Tolkien and Whedon make similar contributions to the nuances found in Western traditions of wilderness by emphasizing wilderness as a place of becoming, rich with possibility yet fraught with peril

The Story of Kullervo (2015) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger

Book Review, by Dimitra Fimi, of The Story of Kullervo (2015) by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Fliege