| Close examination of the themes in The Lord of the Rings and a comparison of those themes with the themes found in medieval Celtic legend and the later Arthurian romances which grew out of the Celtic stories about Arthur show that this British legend is the most likely source for Tolkien's work. This thesis also compares numerous elements of Tolkien's trilogy with very similar elements in Celtic legends.; Comparison of elements of analogue, plot, and theme which are similar in Tolkien's work and in Celtic and Arthurian legend not only shows that Tolkien drew upon these legends, but also that his purpose in writing the trilogy was to create a new national legend for England in which the Arthur figure, the character Aragorn in the trilogy, returns to establish a glorious reign and to set to rights all that has gone wrong with England as a nation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
