The Mountain and the City
Throughout Tolkien’s major works we can see patterns and resonances of certain images. It is as though the whole edifice of Middle-earth...
The Opening of 'Little Gidding'
’Little Gidding’ by T. S. Eliot is a long poem which merits detailed study. It is the culmination of Eliot’s poetry in many ways: a...
Tolkien and the Cats of Queen Beruthiel
In 1955, poet W. H. Auden was asked by the BBC to talk about The Lord of the Rings . Auden asked Tolkien for some background information...
Who Wants To Be A Mediaeval Millionaire?
When teaching 11 to 14 year olds about mediaeval literature like Beowulf  or Gawain and the Green Knight , one runs into the enormous...
Tolkien and the Music of Language
(Elements of this article are taken from the book How to Get Children Read More )  Dedicated readers of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work will...
The Melting of Modes
Renowned Canadian academic Northrop Frye, outlines the shape of fiction in his book Anatomy of Criticism : Â In the second paragraph of...
Shakespeare: Bypassing the Barriers
It was common practice in schools a few years ago, and may still be, that, in order to ‘do’ Shakespeare, the teacher would play Baz...
Symbolism in 'Brighton Rock'
Graham Greene’s novel Brighton Rock is an interesting example of an Irony, a story which draws its power from the classic patterns and...