Chris in PA Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hi all I am trying to plan a literature study for my ds who will be entering 11th grade in the fall. He loves the Lord on the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit. We had an amazing time with literature this year as we used WttW along with a year of science fiction (thanks to the ladies of this board for the great recommendations). I would like to continue having him enjoy reading, analyzing and discussing books next year. So I am looking to build a literature course around the books that influenced Tolkien in his writing. I have done searches on the board and can't seem to find anything helpful. Would anyone have a link to a past thread on this subject or a list of books that might be helpful to me as I plan this out? Thanks! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Here are some resources that might help you out. The Tolkien Professor Mythgard Institute Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I just knew Lori D. would have something for you. Jackpot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 LOADS of ideas in this past thread (xpost: Any serious Tolkien fans? A question about the History of LotR and book order, etc.), in which 8FilltheHeart was asking for ideas about a year ago in order to do the exact same thing with her DD for this year. DEFINITELY take time to read through this one and click on all the links to see what fits in with your plans. :) Resources for Tolkien influences and background info: - documentary on Tolkien and his influences: - The Road to Middle Earth (Shippey) - Tolkien: Man and Myth (Pearce) - JRR Tolkien: A Biography (Carpenter) -- written by friend and fellow "Inkling" - Letters of JRR Tolkien (Tolkien) - Peter Kreeft audio lecture: "Christianity in Lord of the Rings" - Peter Kreeft audio series: "Ten Uncommon Insights into Evil from Lord of the Rings" - Cory Olson: Mythgard audio lectures on The Hobbit - "Talking Tolkien with Thomas Shippey" -- article interview with Tolkien scholar about Tolkien's influences Literature to Read with LotR: - The Silmarillion (Tolkien) -- Tolkien's myths out of which LotR comes; frequently people/events from The Silmarillion are alluded to in LotR - Beowulf -- Heaney translation - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight -- Tolkien's translation - Norse works -- post #47 of thread above, Slartibartfast links English translations to some key works - essays by Tolkien: "On Fairy Stories"; "Of Monsters and Critics" (about Beowulf); "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" - The Once and Future King (White) -- a King Arthur work; many Arthurian similarities in LotR - Macbeth (Shakespeare) -- choices that leaders in LotR make echo those made by characters in Shakespeare's play; a really good companion work due to similar themes, even though it is a more minor influence on Tolkien Consider These Short Stories by Tolkien: - "Farmer Giles of Ham" -- much humor based on Tolkien's playing with Latin, language, and names - "Smith of Wooton Major" -- a poignant example of Tolkien's points in his essay "On Fairy Stories" - "Leaf By Niggle" -- an example of Tolkien's faith shining through the story Additional Fantasy Works to Consider: You mentioned you want to do something similar to the sci-fi focus you're doing this year, so here are some quality fantasy works to consider including as part of your Tolkien Lit year: - Phantastes -- OR -- Lilith (MacDonald) Late 1800s, Christian author whose works influenced Tolkien (he is more well-known for his children's works of The Princess and the Goblins, The Princess and Curdie, and At the Back of the North Wind, and short stories such as "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". - Till We Have Faces (Lewis) Okay, not really a fantasy :tongue_smilie: , but more of a reworking of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche and set in an ancient Mesopotamian-type of setting. BUT… powerfully written, GREAT Christian themes, and a "must read" if you haven't already done so. - Watership Down (Adams) An epic quest -- much like The Aeneid, a search for a homeland. The main characters are rabbits, and in some subtle ways, this tale reminds me of Lord of the Rings -- a journey, sacrifice, choices for power/control or humility, just wanting a quiet country life... - Earthsea trilogy: A Wizard of Earthsea #1; The Tombs of Atuan #2; The Farthest Shore #3 (Le Guin) These are very well-written, with great themes of power and pride, choices and consequences. Although the author is not a Christian, the middle book has some incredibly powerful Christian images and themes. You can easily read just book 1 and/or just book 2 as stand-alone works; book 3 is built off of book 1. Many years later, Le Guin wrote several additional books, but they are not as good and are VERY much from a strong feminist perspective that tries to re-write the culture she set up in the first 3 books -- JUST stick with the first 3 books. ;) - Through the Looking Glass (Carroll) Not so much a Literature "must do", BUT, just as Tolkien wrote out of his love and fascination for languages, Lewis Carroll wrote out of his love and fascination with math, puzzles and chess. If you decide to go with this idea, use the Annotated Alice by Martin Gardiner, which helps you trace all of the puzzles, references, and chess moves. - Peter Pan (Barrie) Use a good guide -- we read it right after Lord of the Flies, and we saw some spooky similarities... - The Last Unicorn (Beagle) It has been SO long since I read this; I just have the memory of it being unexpectedly more than I thought it would be... - Auralia's Colors quadrilogy (Overstreet) Four book series: Auralia's Colors #1; Cyndere's Midnight #2; Raven's Ladder #3; The Aleboy's Feast #4. - The Dark is Rising series (Cooper) More of a late middle school/early high school read, and not really deep, but definitely some King Arthur connections in the first book or two, and you can get a bit of discussion out of it. The tone becomes more Celtic-religious-based the further into the series you go, and there is less to draw out literary analysis-wise until the climax of the final book. - Below the Root (Snyder) At a middle school level of writing, it's still worth reading even in high school for some of the possible discussion -- but only go for it if you are really in need of additional reading material to fill up your year. (Or, possibly all 3 books in the Greensky trilogy -- Below The Root #1, And All Between #2, Until The Celebration #3 -- the first is the best and best-written, but book 2 brings up some good discussion points; book 3 is weak.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 LOADS of ideas in this past thread (xpost: Any serious Tolkien fans? A question about the History of LotR and book order, etc.), in which 8FilltheHeart was asking for ideas about a year ago in order to do the exact same thing with her DD for this year. DEFINITELY take time to read through this one and click on all the links to see what fits in with your plans. :) Resources for Tolkien influences and background info: - documentary on Tolkien and his influences: "A Study of the Maker of Middle Earth" - The Road to Middle Earth (Shippey) - Tolkien: Man and Myth (Pearce) - JRR Tolkien: A Biography (Carpenter) -- written by friend and fellow "Inkling" - Letters of JRR Tolkien (Tolkien) - Peter Kreeft audio lecture: "Christianity in Lord of the Rings" - Cory Olson: Mythgard audio lectures on The Hobbit - "Talking Tolkien with Thomas Shippey" -- article interview with Tolkien scholar about Tolkien's influences Literature to Read with LotR: - The Silmarillion (Tolkien) -- Tolkien's myths out of which LotR comes; frequently people/events from The Silmarillion are alluded to in LotR - Beowulf -- Heaney translation - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight -- Tolkien's translation - Norse works -- post #47 of thread above, Slartibartfast links English translations to some key works - essays by Tolkien: "On Fairy Stories"; "Of Monsters and Critics" (about Beowulf); "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" - The Once and Future King (White) -- a King Arthur work; many Arthurian similarities in LotR - Macbeth (Shakespeare) -- choices that leaders in LotR make echo those made by characters in Shakespeare's play; a really good companion work due to similar themes, even though it is a more minor influence on Tolkien Consider These Short Stories by Tolkien: - "Farmer Giles of Ham" -- much humor based on Tolkien's playing with Latin, language, and names - "Smith of Wooton Major" -- a poignant example of Tolkien's points in his essay "On Fairy Stories" - "Leaf By Niggle" -- an example of Tolkien's faith shining through the story Additional Fantasy Works to Consider: You mentioned you want to do something similar to the sci-fi focus you're doing this year, so here are some quality fantasy works to consider including as part of your Tolkien Lit year: - Phantastes -- OR -- Lilith (MacDonald) Late 1800s, Christian author whose works influenced Tolkien (he is more well-known for his children's works of The Princess and the Goblins, The Princess and Curdie, and At the Back of the North Wind, and short stories such as "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman". - Till We Have Faces (Lewis) Okay, not really a fantasy :tongue_smilie: , but more of a reworking of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche and set in an ancient Mesopotamian-type of setting. BUT… powerfully written, GREAT Christian themes, and a "must read" if you haven't already done so. - Watership Down (Adams) An epic quest -- much like The Aeneid, a search for a homeland. The main characters are rabbits, and in some subtle ways, this tale reminds me of Lord of the Rings -- a journey, sacrifice, choices for power/control or humility, just wanting a quiet country life... - Earthsea trilogy: A Wizard of Earthsea #1; The Tombs of Atuan #2; The Farthest Shore #3 (Le Guin) These are very well-written, with great themes of power and pride, choices and consequences. Although the author is not a Christian, the middle book has some incredibly powerful Christian images and themes. You can easily read just book 1 and/or just book 2 as stand-alone works; book 3 is built off of book 1. Many years later, Le Guin wrote several additional books, but they are not as good and are VERY much from a strong feminist perspective that tries to re-write the culture she set up in the first 3 books -- JUST stick with the first 3 books. ;) - Through the Looking Glass (Carroll) Not so much a Literature "must do", BUT, just as Tolkien wrote out of his love and fascination for languages, Lewis Carroll wrote out of his love and fascination with math, puzzles and chess. If you decide to go with this idea, use the Annotated Alice by Martin Gardiner, which helps you trace all of the puzzles, references, and chess moves. - Peter Pan (Barrie) Use a good guide -- we read it right after Lord of the Flies, and we saw some spooky similarities... - The Last Unicorn (Beagle) It has been SO long since I read this; I just have the memory of it being unexpectedly more than I thought it would be... - Auralia's Colors quadrilogy (Overstreet) Four book series: Auralia's Colors #1; Cyndere's Midnight #2; Raven's Ladder #3; The Aleboy's Feast #4. - The Dark is Rising series (Cooper) More of a late middle school/early high school read, and not really deep, but definitely some King Arthur connections in the first book or two, and you can get a bit of discussion out of it. The tone becomes more Celtic-religious-based the further into the series you go, and there is less to draw out literary analysis-wise until the climax of the final book. - Below the Root (Snyder) At a middle school level of writing, it's still worth reading even in high school for some of the possible discussion -- but only go for it if you are really in need of additional reading material to fill up your year. (Or, possibly all 3 books in the Greensky trilogy -- Below The Root #1, And All Between #2, Until The Celebration #3 -- the first is the best and best-written, but book 2 brings up some good discussion points; book 3 is weak.) This is amazing! Just what I was looking for. Can you tell me what guide you used for Peter Pan? Thanks so very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Here are some resources that might help you out. The Tolkien Professor Mythgard Institute Thanks for the links. I like the looks of the Mythgard Institute. I will need to investigate this more over the weekend. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 ...Can you tell me what guide you used for Peter Pan? We had done so much Lit. together, by that time we weren't really using guides. I was searching for you and am coming up virtually empty on Peter Pan for high school! Which stuns me, because there are a number of mature themes that can be explored in that work… Anyways, I was inspired to do some research for you, and I've started a list -- when I can I'll come back and add to this by editing after the fact. Cheers! Lori D. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - study guide (free) by Elizabeth & John McIlvain -- middle school level, but VERY useable as springboard for high school Farmer Giles of Ham - Enotes guide (for a fee) - Bookrags guide (for a fee) - Mock Epic of Farmer Giles of Ham (free short article) by Cory Olsen: The Tolkien Professor - Farmer Giles of Ham: Hero for Our Time? by Peter Freeman (free article comparing modern gun rights with the story) The Last Unicorn - list of links, each leading to discussion questions for the book around a particular idea (free) - themes in the work (free) by Olson of BYU - Enotes guide (for a fee) - Bookrags guide (for a fee) Leaf by Niggle - very short article as intro to ideas in the story (free) by Nenyia - article: Allegory in Transformation (free) by Marie Nelson The Light Princess - article on spiritual meaning in the story (free) by Bob Trexler - Enotes guide (for a fee) - Bookrags guide (for a fee) Lilith - The Golden Key -- website of many resources about MacDonald and his writings - study notes and questions (free) by Dale Nelson - article on spiritual meaning in the novel: "The Spiritual Structure of Lilith" (free) Peter Pan - full text of the book, free online reading - Enotes guide (for a fee) - Bookrags guide (for a fee) Phantastes - full text of the book (free) - review of the book by Rachel Bomberger (free) - study guide (free) by Elizabeth & John McIlvain; middle school, but VERY useable as springboard for high school - The Golden Key -- website of many resources about MacDonald and his writings Smith of Wooton Major (this short story REALLY should be read in conjunction with Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories", as it illustrates his point exactly) - full text of book (free) - "Two Views of Faerie in Smith of Wooton Major" (free) by Josh Long -- simple comparison; makes a nice example of a literary analysis essay a high school student could do for this work Till We Have Faces - Peter Kreeft audio lecture: "Till We Have Faces" - The Center for Learning guide (for a fee) - CS Lewis Review: Book Club Talking Points (free) -- questions pointing to themes Through the Looking Glass - thoughts/questions for sparking discussion (free) - Prestwick House teaching unit (free) by Amber Reed - Sparknotes guide (free) - Bookrags (for a fee) Watership Down - Sparknotes guide (free) - Pink Monkey guide (free) - Novel Unit guide (for a fee) - Enotes guide (for a fee) - Bookrags guide (for a fee)http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-watershipdown/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in PA Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Wow! Lori thank you so much!!! I have a great list of books but now my problem will be narrowing down the list. It's a good problem to have. I really appreciate all the links. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I need to print this thread and the older one. The more I read and research for a Norse/Arthur course for DS/rising 10th, the more I keep running into Tolkien again. If we change our aim to Tolkien inspiration instead he'll get Norse, Arthur, and more. We'd at least have Tolkien to help us through it, since there doesn't seem to be a Vandiver Great Courses equivalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 A new annotated edition of Tolkien's Beowulf translation comes out in May. It's much better than the Heaney translation, and more on point in studying Tolkien. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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