A comparison of the Hong Kong author Jin Yong and J. R. R. Tolkien A comparison of the Hong Kong author Jin Yong and J. R. R. Tolkien by Jonathan Hui, English Division at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Is Jin Yong 'China's Tolkien'? 

Emma Sillett, Trinity College Librarian, and Dr Caroline Batten explore the Danson Library's collection of rare Arthur Rackham fantasy illustrations. Emma Sillett, Trinity College Librarian, and Dr Caroline Batten explore the Danson Library's collection of rare Arthur Rackham fantasy illustrations, looking at editions of fairy tales, Milton's Comus, Wagner's Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods, and more.

Arthur Rackham at Trinity College 

John Wyndham

This talk explores the myth underlying the action in John Wyndham's `The Kraken Wakes'. This talk discusses the fantasy novel The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham. The novel is often described as science fiction, but the underlying legend of a sea monster has a long history and appears in literature all over the world. Sometimes the creature is non-aggressive, often aggressive; the narrator and his wife evoke both traditions. Jane Bliss is an independent scholar based in Oxford, working on a number of medieval topics including Romance and Anglo-Norman Literature.

The Last of the Titans 

The Saga of Eric the Unlucky examines Rider Haggard's use of medieval narrative techniques in his novel Eric Brighteyes. In The Saga of Eric the Unlucky, Jane Bliss examines Rider Haggard's use of medieval narrative techniques in his nineteenth-century novel The Saga of Eric Brighteyes. He exploits the paratactic narrative style familiar from chronicle history; he also uses a typical and often very effective tense-switching from past to present and back, to bring scenes to life. The story is enlivened with his own verses, composed with a traditional alliterative style in mind. Jane Bliss is an independent scholar; she has written on several aspects of medieval literature, and runs an Anglo-Norman Reading Group in Oxford.

The Saga of Eric the Unlucky 

Edward Lear

Jasmine Jagger provides a short introduction to Edward Lear. Jasmine Jagger provides a short introduction to Edward Lear, a literary nonsense author whose fanciful limericks and invented words inspired numerous fantasy authors. Dr Jagger lectured at Oxford (Jesus and Lady Margaret Hall), and is now a member of the Department of English and Creative Writing at the University of Roehampton.

Edward Lear and Fantasy 

A discussion of werewolves in medieval and modern representations. A discussion of werewolves in medieval and modern representations by Dr Minjie Su.

Werewolves in Medieval Literature vs Modern TV 

A visual discussion of the Morte D'Arthur murals in the library of the Oxford Union. A visual discussion of the Morte D'Arthur murals in the library of the Oxford Union by Tom Corrick (Librarian) and Caroline Batten. the murals were painted by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and influence many writers.

Morte D'Arthur Murals in the Oxford Union 

Jane Bliss introduces listeners to the work of Violet Needham, a prolific but little-remembered children’s fantasy author, whose book 'The Woods of Windri' draws on the tropes of medieval romances in fascinating ways.ays. Jane Bliss introduces listeners to the work of Violet Needham, a prolific but little-remembered children’s fantasy author, whose book 'The Woods of Windri' draws on the tropes of medieval romances in fascinating ways. The talk ends with questioning the definition of 'fantasy' and how it relates to Needham.

Violet Needham 

This lecture is an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's third major work, 'The Silmarillion' (1977), and considers its lengthy development in numerous prose and verse texts over fifty years. This lecture offers a guided tour through the development of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Silmarillion' corpus, inclusive of The Silmarillion (1977) and the earlier versions of the same work published in the History of Middle Earth series (1983-1996). The most mythological and magisterial of Tolkien's major works, the 1977 Silmarillion (and its antecedents) gives the reader a very different experience and perspective than his more famous and widely read works, The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). A mythology in the true sense, the 'Silmarillion' corpus is peopled with gods and other preternatural beings and represents the earliest comprehensive work of Tolkien's imagination. Since it was begun in earnest in the middle of the First World War, one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, its tone is more sober and its events more tragic than those of his other classics, but its powerful messages of nobility in the face of defeat and courage in darkness resonate with the world events of the time in which it was produced.

What is the 'Silmarillion'? 

An analysis of two forms that dominate fantasy literature. Prosimetrum, the alternation between verse and prose as a narrative form, was an extremely popular form of writing in the ancient and medieval world. This talk asks why prosimetrum has survived as a literary form in modern fantasy literature and explores how fantasy writers like Tolkien and Kay employ shifts between verse and prose to dramatic effect within their work.     Dr Katherine Marie Olley is the VH Galbraith Junior Research Fellow in Medieval Studies at St Hilda’s College, Oxford where she is currently researching childbirth in Old Norse literature and society.  She studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge (BA Hons, MPhil) and received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2019 for her dissertation on kinship in Old Norse myth and legend.

An analysis of two forms that dominate fantasy literature. Prosimetrum, the alternation between verse and prose as a narrative form, was an extremely popular form of writing in the ancient and medieval world. This talk asks why prosimetrum has survived as a literary form in modern fantasy literature and explores how fantasy writers like Tolkien and Kay employ shifts between verse and prose to dramatic effect within their work. Dr Katherine Marie Olley is the VH Galbraith Junior Research Fellow in Medieval Studies at St Hilda’s College, Oxford where she is currently researching childbirth in Old Norse literature and society. She studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge (BA Hons, MPhil) and received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2019 for her dissertation on kinship in Old Norse myth and legend.

Verse and Prose in Fantasy Literature 

Fantasy Literature has emerged as one of the most important genres over the past few decades and now enjoys extraordinary levels of popularity. The impact of Tolkien’s Middle-earth works and the serialisation of George Martin’s ‘Game of Thrones’ books has moved these and their contemporaries into mainstream culture. As the popularity grows so does interest in the roots of fantasy, the main writers and themes, and how to approach these texts.                Oxford is a natural home to fantasy literature with those who worked or studied here having written so many famous and influential texts (e.g. Lewis Carroll (C. L. Dodgson), C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Garner, and Philip Pullman to name but a few) – leading to the notion of an ‘Oxford School of Fantasy’. These lectures, short talks, and interviews seek to take listeners into these works and these writers and beyond. All material released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ .[Artwork by Minjie Su.]

Guy Gavriel Kay

Gavriel Kay

A short introduction to the writer Guy Gavriel Kay. An introduction to the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay, examining his development as a writer from his early high fantasy roots to his later more historically-inspired novels. The talk discusses the dominant themes in Kay’s work, from his reflections on the retrospective construction of history to his enduring fascination with the power of art. Dr Katherine Marie Olley is the VH Galbraith Junior Research Fellow in Medieval Studies at St Hilda’s College, Oxford where she is currently researching childbirth in Old Norse literature and society.  She studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge (BA Hons, MPhil) and received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2019 for her dissertation on kinship in Old Norse myth and legend.

A short introduction to the writer Guy Gavriel Kay. An introduction to the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay, examining his development as a writer from his early high fantasy roots to his later more historically-inspired novels. The talk discusses the dominant themes in Kay’s work, from his reflections on the retrospective construction of history to his enduring fascination with the power of art. Dr Katherine Marie Olley is the VH Galbraith Junior Research Fellow in Medieval Studies at St Hilda’s College, Oxford where she is currently researching childbirth in Old Norse literature and society. She studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge (BA Hons, MPhil) and received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2019 for her dissertation on kinship in Old Norse myth and legend.

Guy Gavriel Kay 

Sylvia Townsend Warner

Carolyne Larrington introduces the writing of Sylvia Townsend Warner. Carolyne Larrington introduces the writing of Sylvia Townsend Warner whose first novel 'Lolly Willowes' (1926) is a feminist fantasy classic, and whose last collection of short stories, 'Kingdoms of Elphin' (1977) makes play with European fairy traditions. Townsend Warner has recently been rediscovered as one of the most important English women fantasy writers of the twentieth century.

Sylvia Townsend Warner 

Ursula K. Le Guin

A brief introduction to the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Caroline Batten offers a basic introduction to author Ursula K. Le Guin's life, work, and lasting impact on the genres of fantasy and science fiction. This ten-minute lecture is based on a talk given at 'Here Be Dragons': The Oxford Fantasy Literature Summer School in 2018.Caroline Batten is a doctoral researcher in Old English and Old Norse literature at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral thesis is the first stylometric analysis of the Old English metrical charms, and her scholarship more broadly examines gender and sexuality in Old English and Old Norse texts in relation to magic and the supernatural, understandings of disease and the body, and performative speech. She earned her M.Phil from the University of Oxford and her B.A. from Swarthmore College, and currently teaches medieval English literature at Worcester College and St. John’s College, Oxford.

A brief introduction to the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Caroline Batten offers a basic introduction to author Ursula K. Le Guin's life, work, and lasting impact on the genres of fantasy and science fiction. This ten-minute lecture is based on a talk given at 'Here Be Dragons': The Oxford Fantasy Literature Summer School in 2018. Caroline Batten is a doctoral researcher in Old English and Old Norse literature at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral thesis is the first stylometric analysis of the Old English metrical charms, and her scholarship more broadly examines gender and sexuality in Old English and Old Norse texts in relation to magic and the supernatural, understandings of disease and the body, and performative speech. She earned her M.Phil from the University of Oxford and her B.A. from Swarthmore College, and currently teaches medieval English literature at Worcester College and St. John’s College, Oxford.

Ursula K. Le Guin 

A brief introduction to the writer T. H. White. This short lecture introduces T.H.White, focusing on his Arthurian epic 'The Once and Future King' and its relation to Sir Thomas Malory’s 'Le Morte Darthur'.Gabriel Schenk completed his DPhil at Pembroke College in 2014. His thesis analyses depictions of King Arthur, focusing on a period spanning the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries when the figure of Arthur became increasingly protean and multifaceted.He lectures online at Signum University, teaching courses on cultural histories, Arthuriana, and the works of the Inklings. He has also taught small groups and individuals in Uganda, Poland, Turkey, and across the UK.He is one of the founders and organisers of the Pembroke Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature – an annual lecture that promotes the study of fantasy, science-fiction, and other types of speculative fiction – and works for the literary estates of Owen Barfield and P.H. Newby.

A brief introduction to the writer T. H. White. This short lecture introduces T.H.White, focusing on his Arthurian epic 'The Once and Future King' and its relation to Sir Thomas Malory’s 'Le Morte Darthur'. Gabriel Schenk completed his DPhil at Pembroke College in 2014. His thesis analyses depictions of King Arthur, focusing on a period spanning the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries when the figure of Arthur became increasingly protean and multifaceted. He lectures online at Signum University, teaching courses on cultural histories, Arthuriana, and the works of the Inklings. He has also taught small groups and individuals in Uganda, Poland, Turkey, and across the UK. He is one of the founders and organisers of the Pembroke Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature – an annual lecture that promotes the study of fantasy, science-fiction, and other types of speculative fiction – and works for the literary estates of Owen Barfield and P.H. Newby.

T. H. White 

A brief introduction to the writer Diana Wynne Jones. This short lecture outlines Diana Wynne Jones’s early life, her major works, and a core element of her writing: the combination of different images and sources to create new, joyful stories.Gabriel Schenk completed his DPhil at Pembroke College in 2014. His thesis analyses depictions of King Arthur, focusing on a period spanning the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries when the figure of Arthur became increasingly protean and multifaceted.He lectures online at Signum University, teaching courses on cultural histories, Arthuriana, and the works of the Inklings. He has also taught small groups and individuals in Uganda, Poland, Turkey, and across the UK.He is one of the founders and organisers of the Pembroke Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature – an annual lecture that promotes the study of fantasy, science-fiction, and other types of speculative fiction – and works for the literary estates of Owen Barfield and P.H. Newby.

A brief introduction to the writer Diana Wynne Jones. This short lecture outlines Diana Wynne Jones’s early life, her major works, and a core element of her writing: the combination of different images and sources to create new, joyful stories. Gabriel Schenk completed his DPhil at Pembroke College in 2014. His thesis analyses depictions of King Arthur, focusing on a period spanning the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries when the figure of Arthur became increasingly protean and multifaceted. He lectures online at Signum University, teaching courses on cultural histories, Arthuriana, and the works of the Inklings. He has also taught small groups and individuals in Uganda, Poland, Turkey, and across the UK. He is one of the founders and organisers of the Pembroke Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature – an annual lecture that promotes the study of fantasy, science-fiction, and other types of speculative fiction – and works for the literary estates of Owen Barfield and P.H. Newby.

Diana Wynne Jones 

'Game of Thrones' and storytelling. In 'Why Game of Thrones Matters', Carolyne Larrington discusses some reasons for the popularity of the HBO series, explores some of its principal themes and considers ways in which it both is – and isn't – like other epic fantasies.Carolyne Larrington teaches medieval English literature at St John's College, Oxford. She is the author of 'Winter is Coming: the Medieval World of Game of Thrones' (Bloomsbury, 2015) and her new book on the show, 'All Men Must Die' is forthcoming from Bloomsbury later this year.

'Game of Thrones' and storytelling. In 'Why Game of Thrones Matters', Carolyne Larrington discusses some reasons for the popularity of the HBO series, explores some of its principal themes and considers ways in which it both is – and isn't – like other epic fantasies. Carolyne Larrington teaches medieval English literature at St John's College, Oxford. She is the author of 'Winter is Coming: the Medieval World of Game of Thrones' (Bloomsbury, 2015) and her new book on the show, 'All Men Must Die' is forthcoming from Bloomsbury later this year.

Why 'Game of Thrones' Matters 

A guest lecture by Dr Maria Cecire (Bard College) discussing children's fantasy literature. Maria Sachiko Cecire introduces the idea of an Oxford School of children’s fantasy literature, describing how J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis pushed back against "modern" cultural changes in the first half of the 20th-century through both the fiction they wrote while medievalists at the University of Oxford and as the architects of a new English curriculum that inspired future fantasy writers including Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, and Philip Pullman. Cecire addresses the after-effects of this legacy, with an emphasis on the colonialist fantasies of white male heroism that circulated in the genre well after the end of empire and 21st-century responses by authors (such as Junot Díaz) whose fiction reclaims enchantment for audiences often excluded by mainstream fantasy. This lecture has been adapted from material published by the University of Minnesota Press in Cecire's book 'Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century' (available at: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/re-enchanted). Maria Sachiko Cecire is Associate Professor of Literature and Director of the Center for Experimental Humanities at Bard College (USA). She is the author of 'Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century' (University of Minnesota Press, 2019), and co-editor of 'Space and Place in Children’s Literature, 1789-Present' (Routledge, 2015) with Hannah Field, Kavita Mudan Finn, and Malini Roy.

A guest lecture by Dr Maria Cecire (Bard College) discussing children's fantasy literature. Maria Sachiko Cecire introduces the idea of an Oxford School of children’s fantasy literature, describing how J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis pushed back against "modern" cultural changes in the first half of the 20th-century through both the fiction they wrote while medievalists at the University of Oxford and as the architects of a new English curriculum that inspired future fantasy writers including Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, and Philip Pullman. Cecire addresses the after-effects of this legacy, with an emphasis on the colonialist fantasies of white male heroism that circulated in the genre well after the end of empire and 21st-century responses by authors (such as Junot Díaz) whose fiction reclaims enchantment for audiences often excluded by mainstream fantasy. This lecture has been adapted from material published by the University of Minnesota Press in Cecire's book 'Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century' (available at: <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/re-enchanted" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/re-enchanted</a>). Maria Sachiko Cecire is Associate Professor of Literature and Director of the Center for Experimental Humanities at Bard College (USA). She is the author of 'Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century' (University of Minnesota Press, 2019), and co-editor of 'Space and Place in Children’s Literature, 1789-Present' (Routledge, 2015) with Hannah Field, Kavita Mudan Finn, and Malini Roy.

Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century 

A short introduction to reading and studying fantasy literature. This shortened version of a lecture seeks to introduce the listener to the concept of fantasy literature. It begin by looking at how one can define the genre of fantasy and what texts it might, or might not contain. We look at two standard approaches adopted by scholars - the chronological 'long history' of fantasy, and common tropes, structures, and motifs. The talk touches briefly on world-building and immersion, engaging with Tolkien's essay 'On Fairy-stories'.

Approaching Fantasy Literature 

A brief introduction to the writer, H. P. Lovecraft. A brief introduction to the American writer H. P. Lovecraft, the master of 'weird fiction'. The talk explores the definition of fantasy literature, why Lovecraft could be considered a writer of fantasy, his life and stories, and critiquing his works.

H. P. Lovecraft 

Fantasy Literature has emerged as one of the most important genres over the past few decades and now enjoys extraordinary levels of popularity. The impact of Tolkien’s Middle-earth works and the serialisation of George Martin’s ‘Game of Thrones’ books has moved these and their contemporaries into mainstream culture. As the popularity grows so does interest in the roots of fantasy, the main writers and themes, and how to approach these texts. Oxford is a natural home to fantasy literature with those who worked or studied here having written so many famous and influential texts (e.g. Lewis Carroll (C. L. Dodgson), C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Garner, and Philip Pullman to name but a few) – leading to the notion of an ‘Oxford School of Fantasy’. These lectures, short talks, and interviews seek to take listeners into these works and these writers and beyond. All material released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0 <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/</a> . [Artwork by Minjie Su.]

Fantasy Literature

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