O What a Tangled Web

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O What a Tangled Web: Tolkien and Medieval Literature: A View from Poland
O What a Tangled Web.png
EditorBarbara Kowalik
IllustratorAnke Eissmann
PublisherWalking Tree Publishers
Released23 June 2013
FormatPaperback
Pages196
ISBN978-3-905703-29-0
SeriesCormarë Series
Preceded byTolkien's Poetry
Followed byIn the Nameless Wood

O What a Tangled Web: Tolkien and Medieval Literature: A View from Poland is a collection of essays examining J.R.R. Tolkien's works with respect to medieval literature. It was published as No. 29 in the Cormarë Series.

From the publisher

The nine articles of stimulating literary criticism collected in this volume view Tolkien's work from a variety of medieval perspectives: the device of entrelacement employed in Arthurian romances is used to throw light on the narrative design of The Lord of the Rings; the cultures of Middle-earth are described with the aid of medieval orality and literacy studies; the epic figure of the queen is recalled to reveal the significance of women in Tolkien's trilogy; the character of Éowyn is analyzed in terms of the epic warrior code and the romance chivalric ethos; the role of Elbereth is shown to correspond with the position of the Virgin Mary in the world of medieval believers; the nature of evil is explored through a comparison of Melkor to John Milton's Satan; allusions to medieval Icelandic sagas are detected in Tolkien's works for children; The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth is read in the light of The Battle of Maldon; and Tolkien's literary art is illuminated by way of his own critical essays on Beowulf and fairy-stories. Since all the contributors come from Poland, the phenomenon of Tolkien's prompt and enthusiastic Polish reception is briefly discussed in the introductory chapter.

Contents

  • Introduction: Tolkien in Poland - A Medievalist Liaison
    • By: Barbara Kowalik
  • "O, what a tangled web we weave": The Lord of the Rings and the Interlacement Technique
    • By: Joanna Kokot
  • Orality and Literacy in Middle-earth
    • By: Bartłomiej Błaszkiewicz
  • Rohan and the Social Codes of Heroic Epic and Chivalric Romance
    • By: Justyna Brzezińska
  • Tolkien's Queen Women in The Lord of the Rings
    • By: Maria Błaszkiewicz
  • Elbereth the Star-Queen Seen in the Light of Medieval Marian Devotion
    • By: Barbara Kowalik
  • The Fallen: Milton's Satan and Tolkien's Melkor
    • By: Katarzyna Blacharska
  • Berserkir, Bödvar Bjarki and the Dragon Fáfnir: The Influence of Selected Medieval Icelandic Sagas on Tolkien's Works for Children
    • By: Renata Leśniakiewicz-Drzymała
  • 'He has gone to God glory seeking': Tolkien's Critique of the Northern Courage and Rejection of the Traditional Heroic Ethos in "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son"
    • By: Łukasz Neubauer
  • What Exactly Does Tolkien Argue for in "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics?" An Attempt at a Metacriticism
    • By: Andrzej Wicher

External links


Cormarë Series volumes
1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38 · 39 · 40 · 41 · 42 · 43 · 44 · 45 · 46 · 47