The Lord of the rings, 1954-2004 : scholarship in honor of Richard E. Blackwelder ; [this volume contains twenty papers presented at the Marquette University Tolkien conference of 21-23 October 2004

The fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of The Lord of the Rings, the enormously popular and influential masterpiece of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, is celebrated in these twenty papers presented at the Marquette University Tolkien conference of 21-23 October 2004. They are published in honor of the late Dr. Richard E. Blackwelder, who gave his important Tolkien collection to the Marquette University Libraries, long a major center for Tolkien research. Half of the papers in this book focus on The Lord of the Rings, while others investigate the larger body of Tolkien's achievements, as a writer of fiction, a maker of language, and one of the leading philologists of his day. The contributors to The Lord of the Rings, 1954-2004 include a who's who of scholars in Tolkien studies: Douglas A. Anderson, David Bratman, Marjorie Burns, Jane Chance, Michael D.C. Drout, Matthew A. Fisher, Verlyn Flieger, Mike Foster, John Garth, Wayne G. Hammond, Carl F. Hostetter, Sumner G. Hunnewell, John D. Rateliff, Christina Scull, T.A. Shippey, Arden R. Smith, Paul Edmund Thomas, Richard C. West, and Arne Zettersten. As preface, Charles B. Elston, former director of Special Collections and University Archives, provides a reminiscence of Dr. Blackwelder and his generosity to Marquette. Fans and students of Tolkien alike will find these essays informative and entertaining. short title page......Page 1 title page The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004 Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder Edited by Wayne G. Hammond Christina Scull......Page 3 copyright page......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 5 Editors’ Note......Page 7 Richard E. Blackwelder Scholar, Collector, Benefactor, and Friend Charles B. Elston......Page 9 The AB Language Lives Arne Zettersten......Page 13 History in Words Tolkien’s Ruling Passion T.A. Shippey......Page 25 Frodo and the Great War John Garth......Page 41 Towards Quite Unforeseen Goals Paul Edmund Thomas......Page 57 “And All the Days of Her Life Are Forgotten ”The Lord of the Rings as Mythic Prehistory John D. Rateliff......Page 67 What Did He Know and When Did He Know It? Planning, Inspiration, and The Lord of the Rings Christina Scull......Page 101 The Artistry of Omissions and Revisions in The Lord of the Rings David Bratman......Page 113 King and Hobbit The Exalted and Lowly in Tolkien’s Created Worlds Marjorie Burns......Page 139 Subversive Fantasist Tolkien on Class Difference Jane Chance......Page 153 Naysayers in the Works of Tolkien Sumner G. Hunnewell......Page 169 The Rhetorical Evolution of “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” Michael D.C. Drout......Page 183 Working at the Crossroads Tolkien, St. Augustine, and the Beowulf-poet Matthew A. Fisher......Page 217 “Elvish as She Is Spoke” Carl F. Hostetter......Page 231 Teaching Tolkien Mike Foster......Page 257 Tolkienian Gothic Arden R. Smith......Page 267 Tolkien and the Idea of the Book Verlyn Flieger......Page 283 The Mainstreaming of Fantasy and the Legacy of The Lord of the Rings Douglas A. Anderson......Page 301 “Her Choice Was Made and Her Doom Appointed ”Tragedy and Divine Comedy in the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen Richard C. West......Page 317 Special Collections in the Service of Tolkien Studies Wayne G. Hammond......Page 331 Notes on the Contributors......Page 341 Bibliography......Page 347 Index......Page 365 Hammond (rare books librarian at Williams College, US) and Scull (former librarian of Sir John Soane's Museum, UK) present the 20 papers presented at the eponymous Marquette University Tolkien conference, held in October of 2004 in honor of the late entomologist and zoologist turned J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, Richard Blackwelder, whose collecting activities provided the foundation of Marquette University's Tolkein collection. About half of the papers focus on Tolkien's major work, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, while the others discuss other topics, including the rhetorical evolution of Tolkein's essay on Beowulf, Tolkien as a linguist, the role of Tolkien in education, and special collections in the service of Tolkien studies. Annotation 2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)