1. Tolkien used Northern European myths as models for his own. Consult several sources of Old Norse and AngloSaxon myths about dragons and compare them with Tolkien's handling of Chrysophylax. You may also want to consult The Hobbit for descriptions of Smaug.

2. Using the same sources as above, locate information on magic weapons, particularly swords. Two such swords may be found in Beowulf, and others may be found in Tolkien's major works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

What characterizes such weapons?

3. Farmer Giles of Ham may be thought of as a modern fairy story. Read some other fairy stories, such as those in the Andrew Lang series of fairy tales (The Red Fairy Book, The Blue Fairy Book, The Yellow Fairy Book, etc.) You may also want to consult Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories." What seem to be...