The Comedy of Enchantment in The Lord of the Rings
In this article, J. R. R. Tolkien’s conception of the “enchantment” of fantasy as articulated in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” is initially discussed in relation to the Catholic imagination and its inclination toward inspiring a comedic narrative. In The Lord of the Rings, among others, it is incorpo...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2011
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2011, Volume: 60, Issue: 2, Pages: 273-286 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this article, J. R. R. Tolkien’s conception of the “enchantment” of fantasy as articulated in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” is initially discussed in relation to the Catholic imagination and its inclination toward inspiring a comedic narrative. In The Lord of the Rings, among others, it is incorporated through the enchanted hierarchical structure of Middle-earth that inspires some of its benign inhabitants, especially the hobbits, to “rightly order their lives” in terms of community and their attitude toward death, and likewise creates a universe “hospitable to the humane.” Tolkien’s comedic narrative also awakens readers from the complacency that typically accompanies the contemporary spirit of disenchantment and helps readers in seeing their world anew. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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