Tolkien among the Moderns - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268019738 ISBN 13: 9780268019730

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 2015

Synopsis

It has long been recognized that J. R. R. Tolkien’s work is animated by a profound moral and religious vision. It is less clear that Tolkien’s vision confronts the leading philosophical and literary concerns addressed by modern writers and thinkers. This book seeks to resolve such uncertainty. It places modern writers and modern quandaries in lively engagement with the broad range of Tolkien’s work, while giving special attention to the textual particularities of his masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings.

In ways at once provocative and original, the contributors deal with major modern artists and philosophers, including Miguel de Cervantes, Friedrich Nietzsche, Emmanuel Levinas, Iris Murdoch, and James Joyce. The essays in Tolkien among the Moderns also point forward to postmodernism by examining its implications for Tolkien’s work. Looking backward, they show how Tolkien addresses two ancient questions: the problems of fate and freedom in a seemingly random universe, as well as Plato’s objection that art can neither depict truth nor underwrite morality. The volume is premised on the firm conviction that Tolkien is not a writer who will be soon surpassed and forgotten—exactly because he has a permanent dwelling place “among the moderns.”

About this title

Review:

“This collection of essays places Tolkien in the context of the big themes of philosophy, historically and today. It will speak to readers who are already drawn to the work of Tolkien and who either have a desire to see into his work more deeply or desire to see how his work might be employed to think about other matters, for example, how might the work of Tolkien impact the so-called warfare between poetry and philosophy. I believe that the work of Tolkien is here to stay, that it will continue to stand the test of time, and that intelligent, curious readers will find Tolkien among the Moderns deeply rewarding.”

—Charles Taliaferro, St. Olaf College.

About the Author:

Ralph C. Wood is University Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Chesterton: The Nightmare Goodness of God (Baylor University Press, 2011); Preaching and Professing: Sermons by a Teacher Seeking to Profess the Gospel (Eerdmans, 2009); Literature and Theology (Abingdon, 2008); Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South (Eerdmans, 2004); Contending for the Faith: Essays in the Church's Engagement with Culture (Baylor University Press, 2003); The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth (Westminster John Knox Press, 2003); The Comedy of Redemption: Christian Faith and Comic Vision in Four American Novelists (UNDP, 1988).

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0268019738
• ISBN 13: 9780268019730
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 310
• Editor: Wood Ralph C.