J.R.R. Tolkien (Modern Critical Views)

J.R.R. Tolkien
Publication Information
Editor	Harold Bloom
Publisher	Chelsea House Publishers, Bloom's Literary Criticism
Released	2000 (1st edition), 2008 (2nd edition)
Format	Hardback, Paperback
Pages	174 (1st edition), 180 (2nd edition)
ISBN	978-0791056608 (1st edition), 978-1604131468 (2nd edition)

J.R.R. Tolkien (Modern Critical Views) or Modern Critical Views: J.R.R. Tolkien is a book published in 2000, edited by Harold Bloom. It is a compilation of several essays and book chapters relating to J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth, all of them already published.

From the publisher

Explores the author's literary work through critical essays that examine such themes as the Middle-Earth concept, mythology, and the relationship between literature and language.

Contents (first edition)

• Editor's note
• Introduction
  • By Harold Bloom
• "Tolkien: The Monsters and the Critters"
  • By Thomas J. Gasque (from Tolkien and the Critics)
• "Cosmic Order"
  • By Paul H. Kocher (from Master of Middle-earth)
• "Tolkien and Frodo Baggins"
  • By Roger Sale (from Modern Heroism: Essays on D.H. Lawrence & J.R.R. Tolkien)
• "The Author (1953-1965)"
  • By Daniel Grotta-Kurska (from J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-earth)
• "The Individuated Hobbit"
  • By Timothy R. O'Neill (from The Individuated Hobbit)
• "Tolkien's Prelude"
  • By Anne C. Petty (from One Ring to Bind Them All: Tolkien's Mythology)
• "A Mythology for England"
  • By Paul H. Kocher (from A Reader's Guide to The Silmarillion)
• "On the Need for Writing Tolkien Criticism"
  • By Neil D. Isaacs (from Tolkien: New Critical Perspectives)
• "Lit. and Lang."
  • By Tom Shippey (from The Road to Middle-earth)
• "Myth and Story"
  • By Richard L. Purtill (from J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion)
• Chronology
• Contributors
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Index

Second Edition

A new edition of the book was published in 2008, titled Bloom's Modern Critical Views: J.R.R. Tolkien (New Edition). Its contents differ from the first edition, having a whole new selection of previously published material.

Contents (second edition)

• Editor's note
• Introduction
  • By Harold Bloom
• "Tolkien, Epic Traditions , and Golden Age Myths"
  • By Charles A. Huttar (from Twentieth-Century Fantasists: Essays on Culture, Societyand Believe in Twentieth-Century Mythopoeic Literature)
• "The Hobbit"
  • By David Stevens and Carol D. Stevens (from J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Myth-maker)
• "Bilbo's Adventures in Wilderland"
  • By William H. Green (from The Hobbit: A Journey into Maturity)
• "J.R.R. Tolkien and the True Hero"
  • By George Clark (from J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances)
• "The King under the Mountain: Tolkien's Children Story"
  • By Jane Chance (from Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England)
• "The Quests of Sam and Gollum for the Happy Life"
  • By Jorge J.E. García (from The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy)
• "Tolkien in the History of Ideas"
  • By Brian Rosebury (from Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon)
• "An Unfinished Symphony"
  • By Verlyn Flieger (from Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology)
• "Skin-Changing in More than One Sense: The Complexity of Beorn"
  • By Marjorie Burns (from Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth)
• "The Evidence of Things Not Seen: Critical Mythology and The Lord of the Rings"
  • By John C. Hunter (from Journal of Modern Literature Volume 29, Number 2)
• Chronology
• Contributors
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Index

External links

• J.R.R. Tolkien (Modern Critical Views) at the Internet Archive (available to borrow for free)