Why Spend an Entire Semester on Tolkien?
By Randee Baty with The Lukeion Project
whether his work deserves time spent in academic study. Will prospective colleges take that high school english credit seriously? Over 30 prominent colleges and university in the United States, including Rice, Rutgers, Purdue, Villanova, the University of Chicago, Harvard, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill all think it deserves enough study to either give Tolkien’s writings a complete course of their own or have made them a prominent part of classes on either epic literature or medieval literature. Many others have had seminars or workshops on his writing, and many of those are at the graduate level. The University of Texas at Austin and Cal State, Northridge have given class time and study to this prominent author. Oxford University, Tolkien’s long time scholarly home, offers all types of classes on the writing of Tolkien.
When literature teachers talk about why we study literature, we mention ideas such as “universal truths,” “studying the human condition,” beauty of the language,” and “enduring effects on the reader.” We can talk about themes, aesthetic qualities, symbolism, and characterization. We discuss how literature can put us in the shoes of people we will never meet, take us to places we can never go, and gives us both sympathy and empathy for others. The list of what great literature brings us is almost endless, and all of these can be found and studied in Tolkien’s writings without doubt. But they can be found in other authors also, so why does Tolkien merit this type of study? Here are my ideas on that subject.
J.R.R. Tolkien was not just a author of extraordinary fiction, but a preeminent literary scholar and critic. His essay “The Monsters and the Critics” changed the direction of studies and criticism on Beowulf for scholars ever since its publication. Seamus Haney, the former Poet Laureate of Ireland, praised his scholarship on Beowulf and other scholars have called his work “the most important article ever written about the poem.” His study of Beowulf strongly influenced The Hobbit as well as his other writings. Beowulf is a standard text for any college literature class because it is the first epic we have in English, and Tolkien’s study and scholarship on the poem are worth studying.
Tolkien’s own areas of study included Philology (Greek and Latin), Old English, Middle English, Norse Mythology, Medieval Literature, Anglo-Saxon Culture and Literature, and several others. Philology was his main interest and his strong scholarship in this area permeates all the writings he published. In studying Tolkien, we are given access to one of the finest minds in the development of languages that has ever published.
In the course of his studies, Tolkien, along with E.V. Gordon, translated Sir Gawain and the Green Knight from Middle English. His translation is the most well-known and used translation of that Medieval Classic. He also began The Fall of Arthur, a Arthurian legend written in alliterative form, using Old English meter and based on Medieval legends.
In studying the work of Tolkien, students are exposed to elements of all the interests Tolkien studies throughout his long and distinguished academic career. This includes the history of the Ango-Saxon culture as many of his creations, such as the Riders of Rohan, are based on Anglo-Saxon history and society, and the mythologies of many different countries, not just the Norse mythology that he was known to have loved. Germanic myths and legends also figure prominently.
While many fan publications exist over the writings of Tolkien, a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal is also published. Tolkien Studies, published by the University of West Virginia Press has been publication since 2004.
Students spending a semester with Tolkien will have the opportunity to analyze poetry, do close readings on narrative passages, delve into independent research on such topics as portrayals of Anglo-Saxon culture in Tolkien’s writings, and write character analyses. They may write word studies, comparative literature papers, or philosophical essays. The possibilities are endless, and the work can be rigorous while still being appealing for students.
If you are looking for an English or literature class that is highly academic while fun and engaging, think about a semester of Tolkien studies.
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