Syncretic Immersion: Tolkien’s Languages As History, Artifacts, And Meta-Narratives

<p>J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth has been dissected and researched by philologists, medievalists, and literary theorists for decades. Though his work with languages (both historical and invented) has garnered attention over the past few decades, few scholars have looked at his languages in terms of their rhetorical functions within the narrative (as history), with the narrative (as artifacts), and without (as cultural participation). Mark Wolf’s theories on immersion is applied to Tolkien’s legendarium and illuminates his works as uniquely fixated in several modes of immersion at once. Narrative immersion is utilized to understand Tolkien’s works as a furthering of cultural values, languages, and traditions. As these elements of narrative are explored, Tolkien’s legendarium can be seen through conceptual, perceptual, and physical lenses, culminating into a syncretically immersive experience. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English and Theatre

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2020

Author dc:creator

• Zdrojowy, Stewart Raymond

• Created Languages
• Fantasy
• J. R. R. Tolkien
• Literature
• Narrative Immersion
• Literature in English, British Isles

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Stewart Raymond Zdrojowy

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/655

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1653