One Ring to Bind Them All : Tolkien's Mythology

In this volume, Anne Petty aims to show that when viewed through the combined methodologies of Joseph Campbell, Vladimir Propp, and Claude Levi-Strauss a folkloristic/mythic structure is seen to underlie Tolkien's epic work.

In this volume, Anne Petty aims to show that when viewed through the combined methodologies of Joseph Campbell, Vladimir Propp, and Claude Levi-Strauss a folkloristic/mythic structure is seen to underlie Tolkien''s epic work. ""The Lord of the Rings"" is 20th-century mythology manifested in the familiar pattern of the three-stage hero quest made popular by Campbell - departure, initiation, and return - and in the elemental motifs of folktales, as discovered by Propp and expanded upon by Levi-Strauss. This cross-disciplinary analysis shows that Tolkien presented to modern readers and other writers a rich array of reinvented mythic archetypes and icons; the desperate quest (good vs evil); a magical object that embodies or initiates the quest (the ring); the wise wizard who oversees or aids the quest (Gandalf); the reluctant hero, an ordinary person with untapped abilities (Frodo); the hero''s loyal friend and supporter (Sam); the warrior king whose true identity is hidden (Strider/Aragorn); and the goddess figure (Galadriel) amongst others. Petty asserts her idea that through ""The Hobbit"" and ""The Lord of the Rings"" Tolkien created a fully realized world that evokes a sense of authentic history and is imbued with clarity and a beauty of linguistic expression, a world that continues to draw new audiences to the myth of Middle Earth.