Sources of Tolkien: Influence of Myths and Legends on J.R.R. Tolkien in Shaping His Own Mythology

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Vishnu Prasad T. R.

Abstract

J.R.R. Tolkien is a prominent name among the writers of fantasy and children’s literature. His works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stand among the most widely read novels. Tolkien was influenced by a number of myths and legends which made him a creative writer. Norse mythology, Arthurian Legends, Finnish mythology and the Epic poem Beowulf are the chief among Tolkien’s sources. Tolkien was aphilologist and was familiar with the ancient European languages and texts. With the help of all these myths and legends, Tolkien was able to create a mythology and fictional universe of his own. His fictional universe is named Middle- earth. This research paper focuses on analyzing the influence of the above mentioned myths and legends on Tolkien in creating his own mythology.

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How to Cite
Vishnu Prasad T. R. “Sources of Tolkien: Influence of Myths and Legends on J.R.R. Tolkien in Shaping His Own Mythology”. The Creative Launcher, vol. 2, no. 4, Oct. 2017, pp. 10-16, https://www.thecreativelauncher.com/index.php/tcl/article/view/585.
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Research Articles

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