Tolkien’s World of Middle-earth (Spring 2013)

In this course, students will read Tolkien’s two critical essays, Beowulf, and The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings to explore how his world and his myth developed over time.  There are three interim exams, one on the essays and Beowulf, one on The Silmarillion, one on The Hobbit, plus a two-hour final exam on The Lord of the Rings. Each exam builds on the one before it.  All are open book, open notes. The goal is not to test your memory, but to get you to think deeply and critically about the material and the relationships among the works.  You should know more at the end of each exam than you did before you started.

Taught By

Professor Verlyn Flieger

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Course Schedule

Tolkien's World of Middle-earth (Spring 2013)

Book List

The Monsters and the Critics - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Beowulf - translated by Howell D. Chickering