The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - On Fairy-Stories

Elenna · 10-11-2002, 04:10 PM

I consider it more as an epic. It has all the elements - a hero, monsters, katabasis, a tragic hero...

Sorry. As a literature nut, I could go on and on. But I do think you're right, Arwen. Tolkien actually intended his writing to be fairy tales. In many ways, it mirrors the archetypes found in a lot of our fairy tales.

If you read something like the Odyssey, or even the Wizard of Oz, you can see a lot of parallels. That's because Tolkien's characters are archetypes - ideas that are common across cultures and across time.

10-11-2002, 04:10 PM	#2
Elenna A Ghostly Light Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: My private bubble of innocence Posts: 563	I consider it more as an epic. It has all the elements - a hero, monsters, katabasis, a tragic hero... Sorry. As a literature nut, I could go on and on. But I do think you're right, Arwen. Tolkien actually intended his writing to be fairy tales. In many ways, it mirrors the archetypes found in a lot of our fairy tales. If you read something like the Odyssey, or even the Wizard of Oz, you can see a lot of parallels. That's because Tolkien's characters are archetypes - ideas that are common across cultures and across time. __________________ If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did."