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Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien's Mythology Paperback – March 31, 2005
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An eagerly awaited exploration of Tolkien’s Silmarillion
The content of Tolkien’s mythology, the Silmarillion, has been the subject of considerable exploration and analysis for many years, but the logistics of its development have been mostly ignored and deserve closer investigation.
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholars understood the term mythology as a gathering of song and story that derived from and described an identifiable world. Tolkien made a continuous effort over several years to construct a comprehensive mythology, to include not only the stories themselves but also the storytellers, scribes, and bards who were the offspring of his thought.
In Interrupted Music Flieger attempts to illuminate the structure of Tolkien’s work, allowing the reader to appreciate its broad, overarching design and its careful, painstaking construction. She endeavors to “follow the music from its beginning as an idea in Tolkien’s mind through to his final but never-implemented mechanism for realizing that idea, for bringing the voices of his story to the reading public.” In addition, Flieger reviews attempts at mythmaking in the history of English literature by Spenser, Milton, and Blake as well as by Joyce and Yeats. She reflects on the important differences between Tolkien and his predecessors and even more between Tolkien and his contemporaries.
This in-depth study will fascinate those interested in Tolkien and fantasy literature.
- Print length192 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThe Kent State University Press
- Publication dateMarch 31, 2005
- Dimensions6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-100873388240
- ISBN-13978-0873388245
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Product details
- Publisher : The Kent State University Press; First Edition (March 31, 2005)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 192 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0873388240
- ISBN-13 : 978-0873388245
- Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,970,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![Verlyn Flieger](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/01Kv-W2ysOL._SY600_.png)
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2013It is not overstating the case to call Verlyn Flieger's Interrupted Music a literary biography, because it details J.R.R. Tolkien's almost lifelong quest to create a "mythology for England." We now know most of what Tolkien created in his quest as The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, but Flieger, who as always in her Tolkien essays is both fascinating and illuminating, demonstrates that there is much more to discover.
The genesis of Tolkien's life work began in his school days in Birmingham and Oxford and intensified during his service in World War I. Flieger examines Tolkien's interest in Northern mythologies, particularly Beowulf and the Kalevala, and his somewhat disapproving stance towards the Matter of Britain or the tales of King Arthur. Flieger then focusses on Tolkien's long struggle to create an acceptable framework for his mythology, and then enters what I found the most intriguing part of Interrupted Music: her analysis of Tolkien's "scientifictional" stories, the unfinished "Lost Road" and "The Notion Club Papers" and how their visions of a drowned land called Numenor influenced him in his later writings.
Reading Interrupted Music fills me with renewed respect and admiration for Tolkien's long writing career. It also makes me more fully aware of the several different forms in which his mythology could eventually have developed. Today we might very well consider Tolkien a "science fiction" writer best known for his magnificent time travel tales rather than for his beloved fantasies The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013The book came in pristine condition, and was very reasonably priced. The seller is trustworthy, if that's what you're reading the review for.
If you're wondering about the contents of the book, you'll get a similar response. Flieger obviously shares my love for all things Tolkien, and her understanding of the mythos shows. A must-read for any die-hard Tolkien fan.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2006Interrupted music is an excellent study of the way in which Tolkien created his mythology. It differs, however, from her other studies in that is more of a description of a progress than really an in-depth study of Tolkien's work. It thus doesn't really give new insights in Tolkien's books. Therefor I would strongly recommend 'splintered light' as the most valuable of Flieger's works, and 'a question of time' as a good second choice.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2015recommended for anyone's library
- Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2010I like Verlyn Flieger's works on Tolkien very much. I've read her other two books and was impressed with them as well. This particular volume concentrates more on the 'Silmarillion' than on the 'Lord of the Rings', but still gives a very good overview for the serious Tolkien student. Recommended for anyone looking for a good, scholarly, discussion on Tolkien, his worldview, and his creative process, with emphasis on the First Age - but not to exclude those who are primarily interested in the events of the Third Age, as Ms. Flieger ties all three ages together well in her discussion.
Top reviews from other countries
- Mr. Frederick B. L. JonesReviewed in Canada on June 8, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars tolkien's triumph
I've read the major works by J. R. R. Now I know why it took him so long to complete them. Professor Flieger brings a wealth of study and brilliance to revealing the processes of how and why Tolkien had what seemed to be many false starts but was actually a process of building brick-by-brick his mythology. I recommend this and any of her other works on the mythology of J. R. R. to anyone interested in the workings of the master's mind.
- J.A. GabrielReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
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