Surprising Literary Congruences

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

He was very well read and fully aware of contemporary works of all kinds (davem has acquired the very set of Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which he bought for his son), as he would have to be heading up the English department of a prestigious university!

Gibbons (1737-1794) is hardly contemporary with Tolkien's life. His Decline and Fall was a standard historical text, particularly for those of a particular view of history. And before we assume that the Oxford Department of English provided some kind of immediate entree to contemporary literature, we should take a close look at the curriculum during Tolkien's tenure there.

It was almost a matter of pride that modern, that is, contemporary literature was not "taught," the assumption being that one would read it at one's own leisure. What this led to in many cases was the perpetuation of the "Greats"--Greek and Roman literature--at the expense of indiginous English literature or Germanic literature. And, yes, Tolkien did read English literature of his time and age, but his tastes ran to the earlier years as well as away from Greek and Latin. (His characterisation of modern English prose is a particular delight.) This, I would say, is the genius of his work, that he could bring those early forms of northern story and language into the twentieth century.

But stuffy old Oxford in Tolkien's day modern or contemporary? Heavens!