The Lord of the Rings regularly shows up in lists of ‘The Best Books of All Time’, and Tolkien continues to inspire interest and imitation for all kinds of reasons.  This course examines Tolkien’s work from the perspective of his engagement with Old English poetry, a subject which constituted an important part of his scholarly activity.  We will focus on three main Old English poems (in the original and in translation) and Tolkien’s two most popular works of fiction, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Course Tutor:
Dr Jenny Neville
j.neville@rhul.ac.uk
IN216