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#26 | ||
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 6,003
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The Norton Anthology of English Literature online--Beowulf One contemporary view of how to teach Old English literature Lets I be called an old serious fussbudget for promoting scholarship, let me say that Tolkien was part of the initial excitement of the first stages of rediscovery of Old English. The philology which to our contemporary times is now old and superceded by linquistics was in Tolkien's time cutting edge--or as cutting edge as Oxford could be in those days. So, part of this development of fantasy was concurrent with the rediscovery--perhaps it can even be said, discovery--of pre-Christian culture on the British Isles--the recognition of so very many regional dialects, the recovery--yes, that is the better word, recovery--of pagan legends, stories, myths. Perhaps this is why Tolkien so strongly wished to present his Legendarium as a history--part of the zeitgeist of his times, at least pre-WWI. drigel: About our biographical sources: Carpenter's book is a marvellous read, but as readers of biographies know, there can be many versions of biographies. The Letters we have are selected letters, not collected, and it is very highly possible that letters remain in the hands of heirs of recipients, or trapped in pages of books sold second hand, stashed away in back files of libraries in England, that kind of thing. I also read somewhere--and can't recall now where--that Tolkien left a diary, which is unpublished by will of the Tolkien Estate. I could be wrong about both these facts, of course. Sussing out a writer's character is about as definitive a project as determining canonicity. We've had bits and bites of discussion over what kind of fantasy Tolkien was writing. As davem said on another thread, Tolkien's fantasy is quite different, from, say, Gaiman's. Gaiman attempts to recoup elements of archetype and chaos and disorder into the 'modern' sensibility. Tolkien--his is historically based I suppose one could say. Lewis was a religious apologist. Quote:
All of which is to say that I find it rather funny, these comments which tend to look down on Books--which isn't to say that all BD should be about is Books. I'm still waiting for a good thread which discusses Tolkien's sense of humour. ![]() ![]() ![]()
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
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