David Day: Literary Burglar?

[Bêthberry]

From what I know, students studying Tolkien at university and college use David Day?s books for their learning....So, yes,I do believe Day does plagerize and assume but I still use his books whcih are generally accurate.

These two sentences, separated by the ellipsis, come from different posts, but they suggest a problem with the way literary research is taught, I think.

Day is not a very reliable or respected source. He does not offer analysis or original thought about Tolkien's writing. He is not a serious literary scholar and I cannot imagine a professor in university who would accept Day as a legitimate secondary source. He really provides a crib, like Cole's Notes, for people who don't have the time to read and think about Tolkien thoroughly.

More useful (meaning they open up understanding of what Tolkien does rather than substitute for reading Tolkien) critics for study of Tolkien include Fleiger, Joseph Campbell, Shippey.

Respectfully submitted,
Bêthberry