J.R.R. Tolkien's Utopianism and the Classics (Classical Receptions in Twentieth-Century Writing)

"This book opens up new perspectives on the English fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien, arguing that he was an influential thinker of utopianism in 20th-century fiction and that his scrutiny of utopias can be assessed through his dialogue with antiquity. Tolkien's engagement with the ancient world often reflects an interest in retrotopianism: his fictional places - cities, forests, homes - draw on a rich (post-)classical narrative imagination of similar spaces. Importantly for Tolkien, such narratives entail 'eutopian' thought experiments: the decline and fall of distinctly 'classical' communities provide an utopian blueprint for future political restorations; the home as oikos becomes a space where an ideal ethical reciprocity between host and guest can be sought; the 'ancient forest' is an ambiguous, unsettling site where characters can experience necessary forms of awakening. From these perspectives, tokens of Platonic moderation, Augustan restoration, Homeric xenophilia, and the Ovidian material sublime are evident in Tolkien's writing. Likewise, his retrotopianism also always entails a rewriting of ancient narratives in post-classical and modern terms. This study then explores how Tolkien's use of the classical past can help us to align classical and utopian studies, and thus to reflect on the ranges and limits of utopianism in classical literature and thought"-- Provided by publisher Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Series’ Editor Preface Introduction Utopianism and Classicism: Tolkien’s New–Old Continent Between strangeness and familiarity Utopianism Classicism 1 Lapsarian Narratives: The Decline and Fall of Utopian Communities in Middle-earth Introduction: Lapsarian narratives in Tolkien and the classics Platonic ideals in the archetypal fall of Númenor-Atlantis The fall and Augustan restoration of Roman Gondor Conclusion: The ancient city must fall 2 Hospitality Narratives: The Ideal of the Home in an Odyssean Hobbit Introduction: Home, hospitality and Homer A comfortable host and abusive guests Wandering guests Returning home Conclusion: Xenophilic writing 3 Sublime Narratives: Classical Transcendence in Nature and beyond in The Fellowship of the Ring Introduction: Understanding the natural world in The Lord of the Rings The Christian sublime in ‘Three is Company’ The Ovidian perils and material sublime of the Old Forest Tom Bombadil as Orphic guide to the sylvan sublime Conclusion: Tolkien’s Classical Sublime – walking among the ruins of Graeco-Roman Númenor Epilogue Ancient Trees in Tolkien’s Forest Notes References Index Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Utopianism and Classicism: Tolkien's New/Old Continent 1. Lapsarian Narratives: The Decline and Fall of Utopian Communities in Middle-Earth 2. Hospitality Narratives: The Ideal of the Home in an Odyssean Hobbit 3. Sublime Narratives: Classical Transcendence in Nature and Beyond in The Fellowship of the Ring Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index.