Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date
Spring 2021
Academic Department
English
Faculty Advisor(s)
Dr. Louis Martin
Abstract
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings immerses its readers in a fantastical world with its own fictional history. While the novel contains fictional societies and characters, Tolkien clearly derives influence for his content, themes, and structure from the medieval literature and language that he studied and loved throughout his life. This paper examines Tolkien's influences from Anglo-Saxon literature by comparing the fictional communities, elegiac elements, and narrative structure of The Lord of the Rings to those of several Old English works.
Recommended Citation
Mathers, Olivia, "The Road Goes Ever On and On: Anglo-Saxon Literary Influences on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings" (2021). English: Student Scholarship & Creative Works. 12.
https://jayscholar.etown.edu/englstu/12
Notes
Honors in the Discipline; EN 491 Directed Senior Research II; Scholarship and Creative Arts Day (SCAD)