Istoty żywe, posiadające logos. Nieludzcy mieszkańcy uniwersum Tolkienowskiego i ich języki

Abstract

The Lord of the Rings, like all J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary legacy, for years has been popular among faithful readers and is gaining new ones; moreover it is inspiring researchers to formulate theses and develop scientific analyses. These works offer various perspectives of interpretation, but you can list among them three dominant ones: biographical, mythological and religious one, which is a variant of the second perspective. All the research approaches are tied by two motifs, which both by Tolkien critics and by enthusiasts are regarded as key to understanding his artistic legacy: nonhuman inhabitants of Middle-earth and their languages. Reflection on the mutual relationship of these motifs can lead to the disclosure in Tolkien’s work the germ of anthropological imagination.