Representing Middle-earth: Tolkien, Form and Ideology

J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is a vast, complex world-system depicted in classic works like The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, with detailed historical, geographical, and multicultural content presented through poetic forms. Robert T. Tally Jr.'s Representing Middle-earth challenges traditional views of race, class, morality, escapism, and fantasy, offering a new perspective on Tolkien's world and our own.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 31 December 2023
Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc

J. R. R. Tolkien's classic works, such as "The Hobbit," "The Lord of the Rings," and "The Silmarillion," depict a vast and complex world-system. Tolkien's Middle-earth is brought to life with rich and detailed historical, geographical, and multicultural content, presented through various poetic forms that blend elements of epic, romance, myth, history, and the modern novel. This book examines Tolkien's project, focusing on the narrative form and its relationship to social contexts, while also exploring his broader philosophical conception of history and the role of individual and collective subjects within it. Tolkien's published and posthumous writings, film adaptations, and recent scholarship are all examined to provide an enlarged and refined critical perspective of these major works. Drawing upon Marxist literary theory and criticism, Robert T. Tally Jr. challenges traditional views of race, class, morality, escapism, and fantasy more generally. Through close readings and theoretical speculation, "Representing Middle-earth" allows readers to see Tolkien's world, as well as our own, in a new light.

Weight: 272g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780786470372