Honour's Comp - Research paper proposal
This is the first part of a three part research project. The professor is purposefully wanting us to pick a light topic to focus on. I agonized over the topic, even heading in the direction of "is porn bad?" However, I think I have a good one. I know not only the topic, but know the mythological background, know Tolkien, and know Orcs!
So does it seem interesting? Could it hold your interest for 6-7 pages?
I'm also quite proud of the fact that I had *no* passive sentences in this one!
Where do Orcs come from?
Fascination of legendary monsters of myth has been something of hobby of mine since I was a boy. They filled my readings, sometimes occupied my closet, and were often the subject of my own imaginary slayings. The ferocious Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey, the dragon Fáfnir in the Volsung Saga, the Unseelie court of Dark Sidhe filled with Redcaps, Goblins, Trolls and the like as represented in the epic poem by Edmund Spenser, The Fairy Queen. Vampires and Werewolves who often went hand and hand in dark Slavic forests, the “demonic” Oni of Japanese folklore, the giant Roc of Arabian folklore, and I could go on and on.
All of these monsters are interwoven into popular stories, songs, plays, and movies. However, there are no Orcs in all of these ancient tales. With all of his borrowing from Western myth and folklore, J. R. R. Tolkien may have invented them. He had goblins a plenty but then he had Orcs and even “super Orcs” in the Ring Trilogy.
From this reference, it went into Gary Gygax’s Dungeons & Dragons game’s Monster Manual and from there … everything fantasy related. The race became detailed and easily took their place among other mythological folk.
I would like to do my best to trace this brutish creature from origin to their place in modern pop fantasy culture. I would like to see what the race’s roots are that Tolkien pulled from and how they have grown.
I’ll be looking at some literary journals about Tolkien’s work and then delving into some of the more modern takes. I’m going to also try to look at why these creatures catch our imagination so.
I find the creation of a new “monster” that fits in with our myths so easily an interesting one. It may also show us an insight on how other mythological beings came to be. So in finding the origin of the Orc, I may find a door into something deeper within us.
So does it seem interesting? Could it hold your interest for 6-7 pages?
I'm also quite proud of the fact that I had *no* passive sentences in this one!
Where do Orcs come from?
Fascination of legendary monsters of myth has been something of hobby of mine since I was a boy. They filled my readings, sometimes occupied my closet, and were often the subject of my own imaginary slayings. The ferocious Cyclops in Homer’s Odyssey, the dragon Fáfnir in the Volsung Saga, the Unseelie court of Dark Sidhe filled with Redcaps, Goblins, Trolls and the like as represented in the epic poem by Edmund Spenser, The Fairy Queen. Vampires and Werewolves who often went hand and hand in dark Slavic forests, the “demonic” Oni of Japanese folklore, the giant Roc of Arabian folklore, and I could go on and on.
All of these monsters are interwoven into popular stories, songs, plays, and movies. However, there are no Orcs in all of these ancient tales. With all of his borrowing from Western myth and folklore, J. R. R. Tolkien may have invented them. He had goblins a plenty but then he had Orcs and even “super Orcs” in the Ring Trilogy.
From this reference, it went into Gary Gygax’s Dungeons & Dragons game’s Monster Manual and from there … everything fantasy related. The race became detailed and easily took their place among other mythological folk.
I would like to do my best to trace this brutish creature from origin to their place in modern pop fantasy culture. I would like to see what the race’s roots are that Tolkien pulled from and how they have grown.
I’ll be looking at some literary journals about Tolkien’s work and then delving into some of the more modern takes. I’m going to also try to look at why these creatures catch our imagination so.
I find the creation of a new “monster” that fits in with our myths so easily an interesting one. It may also show us an insight on how other mythological beings came to be. So in finding the origin of the Orc, I may find a door into something deeper within us.