Tracing Tolkien’s Sources of Inspiration: Adventure, History and British Culture in His Major Works

Abstract

The objective of this project will be to identify the main sources that inspired John R. R. Tolkien to write his work the way he did. This dissertation will be divided into two main parts: one dealing with the author's life and the socio-historical context he lived in, with a focus on his views on war, religion and ecology and how these aspects are represented in his work, as he participated in the First World War and was a religious man and an ecologist. Another part will deal with the literary influences he received, such as Arthuric legends, Norse culture, European mythology and other related contents he used. The objective is to trace the way British culture impregnates Tolkien's fantasy world. The works by Tolkien used for this dissertation will be those belonging to the legendarium- the compilation that contains all the works that are part of the mythology of the Middle Earth, but especially The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion