'Elven Music in Our Times', Mira Sommer

[Faramir Jones]

It might be interesting for people to see the two main definitions given by The Oxford English Dictionary of 'otherworldly'.

First is 'Devoted to spiritual matters or life; ascetic, spiritual; (more generally) unworldly. Also as n. [noun] (with the): ascetic, spiritual, or unworldly people as a class (with pl. concord)'.

Second is 'Of or relating to a world other than the actual or material; esp. of or relating to a mystical or fantasy world'.

Do people think that we include the Elves in Tolkien's world under both definitions? Every race there (including Man) is part of a fantasy world, created out of an author's imagination; so all come under the second definition. But is it that Elves are supposed to live for so very long (though they are not immortal), and have gone where Man cannot follow, hanging around with the Valar, that make us also think of them, above all other races, as coming under the first definition?