Tolkien and Shakespeare: Essays on Shared Themes and Language

Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy #2

by Janet Brennan Croft (Editor), Donald E. Palumbo (Editor), C.W. Sullivan III (Editor)

Tolkien and Shakespeare: one a prolific popular dramatist and poet of the Elizabethan era, the other a twentieth-century scholar of Old English and author of a considerably smaller body of work. Though unquestionably very different writers, the two have more in common than one might expect. These essays focus on the broad themes and motifs which concerned both authors. They seek to uncover Shakespeare's influence on Tolkien through echoes of the playwright's themes and even word choices, discovering how Tolkien used, revised, updated, "corrected," and otherwise held an ongoing dialogue with Shakespeare's works. The depiction of Elves and the world of Faerie, and how humans interact with them, are some of the most obvious points of comparison and difference for the two writers. Both Tolkien and Shakespeare deeply explored the uses and abuses of power with princes, politics, war, and the lessons of history. Magic and prophecy were also of great concern to both authors, and the works of both are full of encounters with the Other: masks and disguises, mirrors that hide and reveal, or seeing stones that show only part of the truth.

Genres: Fantasy, Shakespeare, Essays, Literary Criticism

327 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2007

Reviews

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of academic essays was amazing. I've studied Tolkien and Shakespeare a little, but I found that I learned a LOT. Got several ideas for papers I want to to work on, as well...

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super duper interesting, but unfortunately I only had the time to skim.

[Mattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only had the chance to take one English lit class (after the obligatory Freshman English) during my college days. Fortunately, it was a really fun one, on Fable & Fantasy literature. The set of essays in Tolkien & Shakespeare took me right back there.

Aside from the nostalgia value, I did enjoy getting back to reading some critical essays as a way of thinking more deeply about the works of two authors for whom I have particular respect and affection. Like all essays, not all of them were as successful as others. A few might have been fine on their own, but suffered in comparison to similar, better, essays in the collection. Only one essay really annoyed me. (I'm sorry, I just don't buy a theory that Gollum is an outcast because he's of a "different race." Gollum's social state is a reflection of the debilitating affects of his psychological affliction. If you want to discuss race relations in Tolkien, there's certainly ground on which to do so, but this wasn't it.) On the whole, though, I found many of the essays were quite interesting - pointing out connections I hadn't been aware of between the two authors, even in the midst of their sometimes very different approaches to the same subject matter.

So, if you're looking for a structured way to re-think about Tolkien and Shakespeare or just wished you'd actually taken more English classes in college, Croft's set of essays should do the trick. I kind of wished I'd reread the source material more recently. Upon reflection, it might have been better to do some of that rereading, in connection with a particular essay, rather than plough through all of the essays sequentially, but, eh, what can you do?

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essays in this book do, in fact, contribute to the discussion in Tolkien criticism. My feeling is that this book goes the direction Tolkien scholarship must go if it is not going to exhaust itself.

[Cristina Montes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tolkien and Shakespeare. Two of my favorite writers. 'Nuff said.