Re: Tolkien's Place in the Canon | White Council Forum Archive - msg 12221

White Council: The Tolkien Forum archive_61 on this day of

Re: Tolkien's Place in the Canon | White Council Forum Archive - msg 12221

White Council: The Tolkien Forum archive_61

All Archives Top White Council Archive Index Archive 61 Index

VISIT LIVE TOLKIEN FORUM
Topic: Re: Tolkien's Place in the Canon
Reply to: Message 12131
Posted: April 26, 2000 at 04:05:20: by Martin Read
:
: There was some discussion earlier about whether Tolkien would have liked to find himself in the "canon" of great writers. I believe someone commented that Tolkien hated Shakespeare (no surprise there) and that if the good Professor were alive today he probably would have preferred to see his works considered together with the great classic myths such as the Iliad and Odyssey, Beowulf, etc. Fair enough.

: But here's some food for thought. I've noticed a strain in certain British writing which exhibits this incredible romantic view of life in the English countryside, particularly around the turn of the century. I'm not talking about E. M. Forster and Jane Austen -- alot of evil was afoot in their versions of rural (really, more aristocratic) England. But some of the Hobbiton scenes in The Hobbit and LotR are awfully remniscent of some of the scenes from the absolutely wonderful "Wind in the Willows," to mention just one example.

: Maybe some of our older British participants can help us out here. Did such a wonderful place as this ever exist?

Older? British? I guess I pass muster here!

In many ways the sort of rural bucolic idyll you mention has the same place in the English (British?) collective psyche that "The Old West" has in the American. One of the reasons for this is that Britain was the first country in the world to experience an industrial revolution when the majority of the population lost their links with their rural origins.

Was Edwardian country life all rosy? I would say not, though compared to the First World War, as no doubt Tolkien and others of his generation would do, it probably stood out as a lost Nirvana.



Other Xenite Sites

SF-Fandom Forum Home Pages






This page is Copyright © 1997-2009 Michael Martinez. All Rights Reserved.

The White Council was the original Tolkien Forum for the Web. The Tolkien Forum on Xenite.Org hosted many discussions between some of the most renowned Tolkien scholars on the Internet. The White Council was renamed to the Tolkien and Inklings Forum after the White Council name was used by other fan sites. The Tolkien and Inklings Forum is now often referred to as the Tolkien Forum by other sites.

SF-Fandom and Xenite.Org are trademarks. SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org science fiction and fantasy network. This forum archive preserves forum discussions which took place on the Xenite.Org message board network from 1997 to 2000. Some messages may have been lost.

If you enjoy science fiction and fantasy then maybe you will enjoy The Truth About Balrogs.