Histories of ME as literature

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Beanamir of Gondor

Should I pretend that the histories are real facts, and that only Tolkien's approach to them is literature?

A good idea indeed! I'm pretty sure there aren't too many approaches like that around in the academic circles... albeit that might be the problem as well.

Pick an appropriate "French" theory of literature (Lacan, Deleuze, Derrida, Irigaray) and make it your own... and you'll get an A (or whatever is your highest mark) unless your professors are traditional thinkers.

But you might also really try to argue that the object of the story is real and the telling of it is fictious. I kinda like the idea. It's something worth pondering indeed.

Any conservative profs will turn you down with that in any case.

So just go back to the traditional theory and discuss the relation of the narrator to his story and characters or the laundry-list of the author during the time he wrote certain passages... You'll be applauded but will find no new ideas...

So stick to your original ideas and let's just hope you have a liberal / reasonable professor...