J.R.R Tolkien’s unique imagination, combined with his study of language, narrative, and history, enabled him to write the classic The Lord of the Rings. In this course, we look at the world he created in the first part of the Fellowship of the Ring as we follow the four ‘everyman’ hobbits - charged with carrying a perilous magical ring to the elves in Rivendell.

DELIVERY MODE

• Online

SUGGESTED READING

• The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R Tolkien, book one of The Lord of the Rings

COURSE OUTLINE

• Tolkien’s life: Oxford Professor and author
• Inspirations for Middle Earth and the world of the Hobbits
• Tolkien’s landscape narrative – the sense of menace, or peace, as part of the landscape
• The journey of the Hobbits

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Understand the link between Tolkien’s studies as a philologist and teacher of Norse literature, and the world of Middle Earth
2. Appreciate the way in which Tolkien took ideas or inspiration and expanded upon them, weaving them into his narrative