Faculty Publications

“What Ship Will Bear Me Ever Back”: Woundedness and the Western Sea

Comments

Closing Keynote at the Tolkien Society’s Westmoot, Kansas City MO, USA, May 9-11, 2025.

Document Type

Conference

Keywords

Tolkien, sea-voyage, World War 1

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Tolkien Research

Volume

21

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

15

Abstract

The sea journey into the West is a multi-faceted symbol-system in Tolkien’s works. It is connected with healing, loss, and the numinous. A character may sail to find peace, to lay down burdens, or to challenge the gods or to beg their help. I will be considering both Tolkien’s literary inspirations in medieval and Arthurian literature, and the personal resonances arising from the significant sea voyages (to England as a young child, and to and from France during the Great War) which twice upended his life.

Department

Rod Library

Original Publication Date

2025

Repository

UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Copyright

©2026 Janet Croft

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