The central place of names and their derivations in Tolkien's work. His use of language and stylistic variation to balance older and more modern perspectives (Bilbo in the Hobbit is "a bourgeois burglar") and to bring out differences in status and character (with a detailed study of the Council of Elrond). The importance of the embedded songs and poems. The variety of Tolkien's sources, from the Rohirrim as horse-riding Anglo-Saxons to Macbeth. The careful chronology and cartography in Lord of the Rings and the interlacing of different plot threads. The nature of the Ring and Tolkien's balance between Boethian and Manichaean visions of evil; the influence of his Christianity. And much more.
Of the two books, The Road to Middle-Earth is more academic, to some extent "a work of professional piety", it probes a bit deeper into etymology and historical linguistics and it has additional chapters, on the divide between "lit" and "lang" in the Oxford English faculty and on the disciplinary history and status of philology. Author of the Century is a bit lighter but still a serious work of literary criticism; while perfectly clear and accessible, it is unlikely to appeal to Tolkien fans narrowly focused on Middle-Earth itself.
April 2022
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The Road to Middle-Earth
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J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
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- Tom Shippey - Fictional Space: Essays on Contemporary Science Fiction
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