Tolkien the Postmodernist

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Aiwendil

Certainly, this is an idea underlying some works of postmodernism, but I'd argue that more generally, postmodernism is interested in questioning whether, and how, language is able to reflect reality or truth, without necessarily positing a particularly firm answer to that question.

I would agree with you. I was using hyperbole for the point of clarifying Tolkien's difference with the post modernists.

Just as a suggestion, there might be something relevant in Tolkien's "Essay on Phonetic Symbolism" , included in the new Fimi edition of "A Secret Vice", for his thoughts on sound and sense or Fimi's essay "Language as Communication vs Language as Art: J.R.R. Tolkien and early 20thcentury radical linguistic experimentation” which is in the JoTR. I don't remember them well enough to offer any thoughts and my reading time is limited these days.

[Bêthberry]

I recently discovered this essay by Verlyn Flieger, from about 15 years ago, "A Post-modern Medievalist" in Green Suns and Faerie. It's a thoughtful analysis of what "medieval" means in terms of Tolkien and provides a decent explanation of what "post-modern" means. It's good at pointing out just how modern Tolkien's writing is, in terms of use of modern vernacular and also provides an extended discussion of Sam and Frodo's discussion of story on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. A good read. Originally posted in Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages, edited by Jane Chance, 2005.

[paulag]

Read it about a month ago. I thought it was very well-written, and appreciated how Ordway tried to stick as close as possible to the known facts. There were a few places where it seemed a bit like she was grasping at straws to make connections between his reading and the legendarium, but most of the analysis was very good.

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