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Originally Posted by Formendacil
As a matter of fact, Tolkien deliberately said that he wasn't writing allegory at all.
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I would say it is a matter of debate; there are numerous refferences in his letters to the inevitability of allegory, out of which I will quote a few:
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Originally Posted by Letter #109
of course, Allegory and Story converge, meeting somewhere in Truth. So that the only perfectly consistent allegory is a real life; and the only fully intelligible story is an allegory
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Originally Posted by Letter #131
I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language.
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Originally Posted by Letter #163
In a larger sense, it is I suppose impossible to write any 'story' that is not allegorical in proportion as it 'comes to life'; since each of us is an allegory, embodying in a particular tale and clothed in the garments of time and place, universal truth and everlasting life
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