RESEARCH General Arts

FANTASY LITERATURE
Course studies 'Rings' trilogy, 'grandfather of modern fantasy writing's

Andrea Lynn, Humanities Editor
(217) 333-2177; a-lynn@uiuc.edu

2/1/2002

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It was "bound" to happen. Hobbits have hit the halls of ivy.

Students at the University of Illinois are now exploring the fantasy-rich elfin realms of J.R.R. Tolkien's mind and writings. The new course "represents the trend toward treating Tolkien's writing as serious literature, and probably is one of few courses emphasizing his place in the important modern literary movement embodied by the Oxford Fantasists," said Alf Siewers, the instructor.

So don't kid yourself, English 119, "The Fellowship of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Shaping of Modern Fantasy," is no Mickey Mouse course. In addition to learning to read Tolkien "deeply and analytically," the 45 undergraduates are working to "contextualize 'The Lord of the Rings' relative to Tolkien's life, scholarship, religious faith and interaction with modern British culture." Students also will consider reasons for the author's appeal, which bridges deep and wide cultural, generational and religious gaps.

A "mumbling, introverted Oxford don," a brilliant medievalist and conservative Catholic, Tolkien was "the unlikely author," Siewers said, "of a book that W.H. Auden and C.S. Lewis hailed as one of the greatest stories of our time." Conceived of as a "Catholic story," "The Lord of the Rings" explores "the interaction between mythology, religion and narrative as it relates to the human soul."

Still, Tolkien's trilogy was "so odd when it first emerged, that publishers didn't know what to make of it, and many academics still pooh-pooh it." However, it became "the grandfather of modern fantasy writing and games," Siewers said. It also "inspired contemporary children's books like the 'Harry Potter' series," said Dennis Baron, the head of the UI English department. Beyond all that, in 2000, Amazon.com readers voted Tolkien's trilogy "the book of the millennium."

The UI class, which filled on the first day of registration and has a long waiting list, also will scrutinize other fantasy writers, including the "Inklings," Tolkien’s fellow "Fantasists" at Oxford – Lewis and Charles Williams, among them. Later, the class will consider "antecedents, alternatives and successors" – George MacDonald's "Christian fantasy"; Dostoevski's "fantasy realism"; William Morris' "retro-Medievalism;" Yeats' "Celtic Revival"; and Marquez' "magical realism."

Tolkien's work may be burdened with obscure references and an anti-technology bias, yet, according to Siewers, it "creates a complete fantasy world with layers of history, languages and issues of heroism, good, evil and romance. All of this is grounded in a fairly realistic narrative, in landscapes that purport to be a prehistoric Europe, in plot themes, characterization and lore drawn from medieval tradition, and with heroes – the hobbits – who are English-style Everymen, but with furry feet. So there are many points of connection between Tolkien's elfin realms and the 'real' earth."

Moreover, because the trilogy draws on ancient traditions, "it acts, in a way, as a substitute religion to non-believers and as a reinforcer of faith to the faithful. That's why it counts hippies, cybertechies, evangelicals and preppies among its loyal fans."