Updated book of criticism and analysis?

acheron

acheron

Gondor
I have enjoyed Paul Kocher's Master of Middle-earth ever since I first read it many many years ago. While I still think it is a relevant and interesting look at LOTR and Tolkien's work, it does predate the publication of the Silmarillion and the other posthumous works published by Christopher Tolkien, and as such can seem outdated in parts. Without diving too heavily into some of the journals and such that are out there, where should I look for a more updated work in the same tradition? (Other than our own Reading Room, of course. [;)]) Is Tom Shippey who I'm looking for? I see that his Road to Middle-earth was updated in 2003 and includes information from Christopher's History of Middle-earth. What about his Author of the Century? Though I take it that one is not quite the same type of analysis. What else is out there that is good?
 
Kocher's book remains one of the best. It doesn't cover Silm, but it does a very good job of LotR (I think his chapters on Aragorn, and Sauron, have not been bettered) but also he casts light on Tolkien's shorter fiction too, such as Leaf by Niggle.

As for later works; I prefer Shippey's Road to Middle earth to his 'Author of the Century', whic I see (rightly or wrongly) as covering much the same ground as _Road_, but not in as much detail. If you're going to read one Shippey book, make it _Road_. If you insist on reading two of Shippey's books, then make the other 'Roots and Branches - Selected papers on Tolkien by Tom Shippey', pub. Walking Tree Press, 2007.

Tolkien worked in the Oxford English School, in which there were two distinct strands - Lang. (ie, the study of the English language, and its relationship with other languages, past and present); and 'Lit.', ie the study of English Literature, which in T's opinion didn't go back far enough. There was a distinct division between the two. The study of Tolkien's works is a bit like that. If Shippey is the man for illuminating Tolkien's 'Lang.' side, then brian Rosebury is the man to turn to for the 'Lit'. Trouble is, his two books (Tolkien: A Critical Assessment' 1992, and 'Tolkien: A cultural Phenomenon' 2003) are neither cheap, nor easy to come by. The library is your best bet; in fact, whenever I recommend a book or books, I always recommend that folk borrow them from the library first. One man's meat, and all that.
 
I have enjoyed Paul Kocher's Master of Middle-earth ever since I first read it many many years ago. While I still think it is a relevant and interesting look at LOTR and Tolkien's work, it does predate the publication of the Silmarillion and the other posthumous works published by Christopher Tolkien [...]
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While it doesn't cover The History of Middle-earth, Kocher did write a book on The Silmarillion, called A Reader's Guide to The Silmarillion, published in 1980. You might want to check that out. If you have not read them, I would also recommend Verlyn Flieger's three books. The multicontributor collection, Tolkien's Legendarium, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl Hostetter, deals with The History of Middle-earth from many angles. Dimitra Fimi's new book is very good as well, though its topic is more tightly focused. And for me it goes without saying: Tom Shippey!

To get more specific, I'd need to know more about your particular tastes and interests, but the above would be a good start.
 
Like Geordie, I agree that Kocher (also my first eye-opener to the possibility of excellent Tolkien criticism) continues to age extremely well. And after that, yes, Tom Shippey is the dean of contemporary Tolkien critics; either book or both, dive in - I personally have a hard time telling them apart because his style is so distinctive. It is true that his lens is almost unrelentingly the historical-language aspect of Tolkien's writing, but you couldn't have a better introduction to the world of Tolkien as Tolkien himself primarily saw it.

Brian Rosebury: yes, indeed. Seek him out! The later edition of his slim but powerful book, Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon, is an update of the first edition, so don't bother with the earlier one. Begging Geordie's pardon, but you can get a used paperback copy from Amazon's resellers for a few dollars. Rosebury, as per his title, approaches Tolkien from the cultural studies angle. That sounds "softer" than medievalism, but he is unrelentingly rigorous and cuts a wide swathe through much of the modern blather about JRRT.

Now, that is a lot to read, but I will also direct you to the three (shorter) books of Prof. Verlyn Flieger, starting with Splintered Light, following with A Question of Time and Interrupted Music. Flieger is an interesting counterpoint to Shippey. She shares his medievalist outlook, but she is ... I don't know ... more flashy, or brilliant, or focused, or something. Maybe it's just that her books take on a single important theme in Tolkien, and stick with it; while Shippey is more encyclopedic. Why don't you read them all and get back to us?

Also: John Garth, Janet Croft, and William Green are other authors whose Tolkien books I have enjoyed. There are many more that I don't mean to slight by omission here. You might consider getting a subscription to, and back copies of, the hardbound scholarly journal Tolkien Studies (U. of W. Va. Press) for a good annual overview of the field; and although I am not familiar with it, the older and harder-to-find journal Mythlore has long had a reputation for publishing excellent critical articles on Tolkien, along with some that are not so excellent.
 
I agree that Kocher's book is still excellent, and hope I didn't imply that I thought otherwise! Indeed his analysis of Aragorn especially is spot-on, I feel.

I think he is a little harsh on The Hobbit but nonetheless analyzes it and its relationship to LOTR very well.

I will certainly get Shippey's Road to Middle-earth to start with, and perhaps see if I can seek out Kocher's Silmarillion book too.

I hadn't heard of Brian Rosebury before, I will add him to the list as well.

Thanks again guys!
 
Kocher's book on The Silmarillion is not of the same quality as Master of Middle-earth (which I agree continues to be excellent). I agree with all of the suggestions made, with the added personal comment that as much as I appreciate Shippey, Flieger is my personal favorite Tolkien commentator. Her books are not necessarily that easy to get into to start, but it is worth persevering.

Also, while it falls into more of the "biography" category, John Garth's Tolkien and the Great War provides tremendous insight into the foundation of Tolkien's work, in my opinion. It is well worth reading.
 
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about Kocher's book on The Silmarillion - not good, I'm afraid.
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I admit I've read neither of his books yet, but I'm surprised that someone could write 'one of the best' books about LOTR and then fall flat when it came to the Silmarillion. How does it fail?
 
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