Science and Romance: Philology’s Marginalization under the Trend of Structural Linguistics in the 20th Century— The Case of J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, made his unique concept of language as the cornerstone of his academic thought and literary creation. He created an immortal epic legend, brought readers a sense of reality and created an awesome mythological system for Britain. However, he was often criticized for his lack of academic contributions. Combining the development and reasons of linguistics in the 20th century, this paper discusses Tolkien's linguistic aesthetics, making a brief analysis of their academic significance, and demonstrates Tolkien's efforts to save philology under the backdrop of structuralism.