Silmarillion : J. R. R. Tolkien’s allotopia from ardological perspective

Abstract

The article Silmarillion - J. R. R. Tolkien’s Allotopia From Ardological Perspective aims at outlining the methodology for studying Tolkien’s world-building project without the need of acknowledging the text-centered reading paradigm. Having differentiated tolkienology, as text-focused, philological studies, from ardology, understood as world-building studies, Maj deconstructs the use of Tolkienian’s “subcreation” in literary theory as far too indebted in the metaphysics of presence to establish a neutral framework for studying the process of constructing a fictional reality. With the examples from Silmarillion - perhaps the best instance of modern mythography, in no way resembling the narrative arc of a prototypical fantasy novel - the author builds up on the notion of “allotopia” as the world independent insofar to create its own ontologies, topographies, languages, philosophy, history, literature, art, or even physical artifacts -without the need of anchoring the overall creation in a metaphysical paradigm. Correspondingly, the text offers an insight to a number of theories in postclassical narratology or postmodern philosophy that may help in understanding the scale of Tolkien’s solemn contribution to the art of fantastic world-building

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