THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF THE GERMAN AND SCANDINAVIAN EPIC IN THE WORK OF JOHN TOLKIN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47390/ydif-y2025v1i11/n09Keywords:
John Tolkien, Germanic epic, Scandinavian epic, Norse mythology,Abstract
This work is devoted to highlighting the power and artistic-influence mechanisms of the Germanic and Scandinavian (Norse) epic-mythological heritage in the work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The study analyzes the reinterpretation of plot models, heroic archetypes, the concept of "Northern courage", fate and trial motifs, and epic style features (monumentalism, genealogical historicity, legendary memory) inherent in ancient German-Scandinavian epic thought in works such as "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion". It is shown that Tolkien's philological training and scientific approach to the texts of "Beowulf" and "Edda" served as the methodological basis for his mythopoetic worldbuilding. As a result, it is concluded that Tolkien did not directly transfer the epic tradition, but rather reconstructed it within the framework of modern novel-poetics, renewing it through internal artistic logic and linguistic layers, creating a transnational mythological space.
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