[A paper written for my Davenant class "Discovering J. R. R. Tolkien." Full PDF here.] Introduction In this essay, I will argue that Tolkien's famous protest against allegory in favour of the "varied applicability of history" was a conscious overstatement meant to deflect simplistic interpretations … Read more…

[A paper written for my Davenant class "Discovering J. R. R. Tolkien." Full PDF here.] Introduction In this essay, I will argue that Tolkien's view of the cosmic and personal destiny visible in Leaf by Niggle, especially in light of its distinctive portrayal of Purgatory, could be called a kind of "graci… Read more…