Fantasy

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Interesting perspective on remembrance there. You might pause to consider the responses to the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. and then the responses to the statue built to satisfy those who demand realism in art.

Ah, but then there are also Banksy's photo-realistic 'additions' to brutalist concrete buildings, aren't there?

Originally Posted by davem

Tolkien lived in England (from Engla Land, land of the Angelcynn

I always thought "Engla land" was a term penned by Keith Allen for the New Order/England World Cup Squad song World In Motion

Originally Posted by alatar

Also substitute love, romance, child-rearing, changing nappies, discussing reality with a teenager, life, football, and discussing fantasy for X as well...

But nappy changing isn't a big 'theme' of the text is it? If you are trying to 'teach' your audience about something then it helps to emphasise that lesson, I find, with good examples. So if Tolkien was trying to teach us about how War is a bad and brutal thing, then shouldn't he show us it is brutal, either by describing the brutality or by showing how war tends to kill those we have got to know and care for. He doesn't do either of those (not many 'good' characters do die, after all) - I don't mind which he chose, but it would have helped.

So then that begs a question - was he trying to teach us any kind of lesson at all?