奇幻文学 | Info Church X.

#1 Introduction

requirements: 1) knowledge of literature history(Tolkien himself a literature critic, influenced by related knowledge) 2) for fantasies, worldbuilding > construct of characters

Bad guys seem to share a common desire for immorality (thus more passionate about life:) . A “good” bad guy should at least possess a complete ideology, no matter how distorted it is.

Root of fantasy literature: - Medieval: Arthurian myths, supernatural powers like hagiography, - Romanticism: to reject industrialism & rationalism, to celebrate nature, imagination. early fantasy pioneers - Gothic sublimes: fear and awe, terror and ecstasy

Inklings

fantasy: secondary world

#2 Mythology of Power

Inside it, what he relates is ‘true’: it accords with the laws of that world.

elf: escape from deathlessness

#4 Kings and Queens, Heroes and Unsung Heroines

Quest

object & long journey (time translated into spatial terms) & hero & tests

Frodo’s anti-quest: not to chase, but to destroy something

Hero

“fair unknown” (a disguised strider who emerges as a rightful king) & weapon (the broken sword) & healing power

the health of the king & the prosperity of the kingdom

key words：

mythic grandeur(Aragorn)

anti-quest(Frodo)

tempered heroism(Eowyn)

divine grace(Galadriel)

Medievalism: Revival of Medieval motifs

#5 Monsters and Critics: Wizards, Elves and Orcs

Northern Mythology vs. Greek Mythology

Northern gods are more like Titans than Olympians — they are on the right side, although it is not the side that wins.

In Northern mythology, monsters are dreadful enemies of the gods, and human are allies of the gods (monsters are in the center). But in Greek mythology, monsters are mostly ofspring of gods, while the gods are lofty, immortal and inscrutable.

The northren has power, as it were, to revive its spirit even in our own times.

Draco在拉丁语中意为“龙，或巨大的蛇”→Draco Malfoy→Dragon Heartstring

Ringwraiths: loss of identity

Hissing Gollum: split indentity

many “s”: like a snake (source of corruption in the Eden)

we wants it: two identities as one / Gollum and the ring