[davem]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Hmmm....so much for perspective. I think perhaps even Tolkien would consider your statement to be presumptuous, if not a bit flippant. I am not as certain as you are in casting LotR in such august company, particularly since educators, editors and publishers (who, of course, write the textbooks and literary compilations) do not necessarily share your extreme position. One of my favorite texts is 'The Land and Literature of England (A Historical Account)' by Robert M. Adams, a witty and often profound literary commentator. Adams offers a one line mention of Tolkien in the book (in the same sentence as C.S. Lewis, coincidently):

I'd never heard of Mr Adams before. I can only say that LotR is not a 'tetralogy' & certainly isn't 'Christian in its structure' As Robert Cook points out re Njal's Saga in his introduction to the Penguin edition:

Such a view is based on a false opposition between Pagan & Christian; it overlooks the fact that there are other Pagan virtues than heroism & pride, & that humility & willingness to make peace are among them....(the writer) is not preaching a sermon, nor writing a theological treatise, for he knows that the two systems are in many ways compatible.

I think that statement could be applied to Tolkien's Legendarium. For Mr Adams to misunderstand Tolkien's work so profoundly & dismiss it so curtly doesn't inspire me with any faith in his other opinions.

It is an excellent summation for the tail-end of a compound sentence, don't you think? Meanwhile, Malory receives several pages of commentary, and I believe that's about it for Tolkien in the literary world...a footnote. When discussing British writers of the first half of the 20th Century, George Orwell and James Joyce get far more critical comment. That's the reality of the literary situation the good professor is up against. I think LotR is categorized by many critics in the same manner as Watership Down, or The Once and Future King, which David Garnett, the formidable publisher, writer and member of the Bloomsbury Group, described as "one the curious classics of English literature". 'Curious' is used as almost a pejorative adjective.

I know that the 'literary world' doesn't care for Tolkien. The literati are so far up their own fundamentals that the resemble an ouroboros. I honestly don't care what David Garnett thinks of Watership Down. Why are you telling me about these psople? Who are they? Are they still alive, or do I have to dig them up to throw stones at them?