Tolkien goes to Hell: From the Deepest Underground to the Utmost Void
Event Website
https://www.mythsoc.org/oms/oms-2023.htm
Start Date
8-6-2023 12:00 PM
End Date
8-6-2023 12:50 PM
Description
There is almost no reference to our notions of Hell or Heaven in Tolkien’s works. Nobody knows where humans, dwarves or hobbits go when they die, whether they have behaved in a civilized way or spent their lives murdering and stealing. Nevertheless, we can easily find hellish settings in Tolkien at different levels: deep pits of fire and torture, wide barren lands of destruction, and places of otherworldly nature used for incarceration. Hell can suddenly appear in any Middle-earth setting, transforming fertile lands and prosperous realms into haunted places or industrialized barren lands where modest people are cruelly enslaved. The balance between the Christian vision of Tolkien and his secular sub-creation is delicate; and we will find that in Middle-earth, where beauty and perfection dwell, there is also a place for the most despicable evil. Is there a place in his works where evil is punished? Is it possible to experience Hell while being still alive? Are there other Tolkien works related to the afterlife? Come with me, but beware: Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate.
Creative Commons License
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Tolkien goes to Hell: From the Deepest Underground to the Utmost Void
There is almost no reference to our notions of Hell or Heaven in Tolkien’s works. Nobody knows where humans, dwarves or hobbits go when they die, whether they have behaved in a civilized way or spent their lives murdering and stealing. Nevertheless, we can easily find hellish settings in Tolkien at different levels: deep pits of fire and torture, wide barren lands of destruction, and places of otherworldly nature used for incarceration. Hell can suddenly appear in any Middle-earth setting, transforming fertile lands and prosperous realms into haunted places or industrialized barren lands where modest people are cruelly enslaved. The balance between the Christian vision of Tolkien and his secular sub-creation is delicate; and we will find that in Middle-earth, where beauty and perfection dwell, there is also a place for the most despicable evil. Is there a place in his works where evil is punished? Is it possible to experience Hell while being still alive? Are there other Tolkien works related to the afterlife? Come with me, but beware: Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate.
Comments
SESSION II
12:00 Noon—12:50 PM Eastern
11:00 AM—11:50 Central
10:00 AM—10:50 Mountain
9:00 AM—9:50 Pacific
4:00 PM—4:50 GMT