[Scott]

I'm not too sure how much you know about Milton or Beowulf, but there are definitely some parallels between LotR and the two of them. For instance, the Ainulindale is shockingly similar to the sequence and story Milton provides in PL (Paradise Lost). Tolkien's main academic focuses at Oxford were often centered about Beowulf (He actually has a translation of it he worked up, which should be in stores by now), and it and the Kalevala were a strong basis for the foundation of the Middle Earth Mythos.
As far as similarities that may work better in your paper, it could be proposed that the stories Tolkien created contained many of the didactic qualities Paradise Lost and Beowulf had. Each can be viewed as a type of handbook on how to live. The admirable qualities in characters are rewarded, the not so charming ones punished. You could also extract moral lessons from different parts in the stories.
Sorry if these tidbits are a bit shortened and choppy, but again, I don't really know if you draw the same allusory connections I do. Good luck with your research. It's definitley a great topic.
~Scott

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 1:33 AM January 09, 2004: Message edited by: Scott ]