| Revision as of 11:53, 6 November 2007 editBrownHairedGirl (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers2,942,733 edits {{primarysources}} currently one independent secondary source, but more needed← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:24, 6 November 2007 edit undoCarcharoth (talk | contribs)Administrators73,579 edits →Further reading: tweakNext edit → | ||
| (11 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{primarysources|date=November 2007}} <!-- currently one independent secondary source, but more needed --> | |||
| '''"On Fairy-Stories"''' is an essay by ] which discusses the fairy-story as a literary form. It was initially written for presentation by Tolkien as the ] at the ], Scotland, in 1939. It first appeared in print, with some enhancement, in ], in a ] volume, ''Essays Presented to Charles Williams'', compiled by ]. ], a friend of Lewis's, had been relocated with the ] staff from ] to ] during the ] in ]. This allowed him to participate in gatherings of ] with Lewis and Tolkien. The volume of essays was intended to be presented to Williams upon the return of the OUP staff to London with the ending of the war. However, Williams died suddenly on ] ], and the book was published as a memorial volume.<ref>{{cite book | last = Schakel | first = Peter J. | '''"On Fairy-Stories"''' is an essay by ] which discusses the fairy-story as a literary form. It was initially written for presentation by Tolkien as the ] at the ], Scotland, in 1939. It first appeared in print, with some enhancement, in ], in a ] volume, ''Essays Presented to Charles Williams'', compiled by ]. ], a friend of Lewis's, had been relocated with the ] staff from ] to ] during the ] in ]. This allowed him to participate in gatherings of ] with Lewis and Tolkien. The volume of essays was intended to be presented to Williams upon the return of the OUP staff to London with the ending of the war. However, Williams died suddenly on ] ], and the book was published as a memorial volume.<ref>{{cite book | last = Schakel | first = Peter J. | ||
| | title = The Way into Narnia: A Reader's Guide | | title = The Way into Narnia: A Reader's Guide | ||
| Line 28: | Line 27: | ||
| </div> | </div> | ||
| == |
==Further reading== | ||
| * | *, www.tolkien-online.com - ''an in-depth overview of <nowiki>'</nowiki>On Fairy-Stories<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' (accessed November 2007) | ||
| *, Waller Hastings, Professor of English, Northern State University (accessed November 2007) - ''one of several examples of summaries of the essay <nowiki>'</nowiki>On Fairy-Stories<nowiki>'</nowiki> for university courses'' | |||
| *, forthcoming book by ] and ]: "A new expanded edition of Tolkien's most famous, and most important essay, which defined his conception of fantasy as a literary form..." - ''(forthcoming, February 2008)'' | |||
| ==Selection of academic responses== | |||
| *, Jeffrey Mallinson, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Volume I, Spring 2002 - ''refers to <nowiki>'</nowiki>On Fairy-Stories<nowiki>'</nowiki> in relation to filming <nowiki>'</nowiki>The Lord of the Rings<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' | |||
| *, Anthony J. Kelly, Theology@McAuley, Issue 3, Banyo Edition, February 2003 - ''theological response to <nowiki>'</nowiki>On Fairy-Stories<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' | |||
| {{J. R. R. Tolkien}} | {{J. R. R. Tolkien}} | ||
Revision as of 15:24, 6 November 2007
"On Fairy-Stories" is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien which discusses the fairy-story as a literary form. It was initially written for presentation by Tolkien as the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, in 1939. It first appeared in print, with some enhancement, in 1947, in a festschrift volume, Essays Presented to Charles Williams, compiled by C. S. Lewis. Charles Williams, a friend of Lewis's, had been relocated with the Oxford University Press staff from London to Oxford during the London blitz in World War II. This allowed him to participate in gatherings of The Inklings with Lewis and Tolkien. The volume of essays was intended to be presented to Williams upon the return of the OUP staff to London with the ending of the war. However, Williams died suddenly on May 15 1945, and the book was published as a memorial volume.
On Fairy-Stories was subsequently published with Leaf by Niggle in Tree and Leaf, as well as in The Tolkien Reader, published in 1966. The length of the essay, as it appears in Tree and Leaf, is 60 pages, including about ten pages of notes.
The essay is significant because it contains Tolkien's explanation of his philosophy on fantasy and thoughts on mythopoiesis. Moreover, the essay is an early analysis of speculative fiction by one of the most important authors in the genre.
Literary context
Tolkien was among the pioneers of the genre that we would now call fantasy writing. In particular, his stories — together with those of C.S. Lewis — were among the first to establish the convention of an alternative world or universe as the setting for speculative fiction. Most early modern writing that shared elements of Tolkien's style, such as the science fiction of H.G. Wells or the Gothic romances of Mary Shelley, were set in a world that is recognizably that of the author and introduced only a single fantastic element. Tolkien departed from this, creating an entirely new world-setting in elaborate detail. He emphasized on several occasions in his private writing, however, that his stories about Middle-earth were to be taken as part of the ancient history of our own planet.
The essay On Fairy-Stories is an attempt to explain and defend this new genre, which Tolkien names Fairy Stories, and is careful to distinguish from actual fairy tales such as those of the Brothers Grimm or H.C. Andersen. This distinction seems to be twofold. First, he defines fairy stories as not stories about fairies or other supernatural beings, but stories about the interaction between humans and those beings. Second, he emphasizes that through the use of fantasy, which he equates with fancy and imagination, the author can bring the reader to experience a world which is consistent and rational, yet utterly strange as well. He calls this “a rare achievement of Art,” and notes that it was important to him as a reader: "It was in fairy-stories that I first divined the potency of the words, and the wonder of things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and grass; house and fire; bread and wine."
Having defined the genre, Tolkien goes on to defend its utility on three grounds. First, he suggests that fairy stories allow the reader to review his or her own world from the "perspective" of a different world. This concept, which shares much in common with phenomenology, Tolkien calls "recovery," in the sense that one's unquestioned assumptions might be recovered and changed by an outside perspective. Second, he defends fairy stories as offering escapist pleasure to the reader. And third, Tolkien suggests that fairy stories (can) provide moral or emotional consolation, through their happy ending, which he terms a "eucatastrophe."
Publications of essay
- Ed. by C. S. Lewis, ed. (1966) . Essays Presented to Charles Williams. Grand Rapids: Wm. B Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-1117-5.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|origmonth=ignored (help) - Tolkien, J. R. R. (5 February 2001) . Tree and Leaf. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-710504-5.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Tolkien, J. R. R. (12 November 1986) . The Tolkien Reader (Reissue edition ed.). New York: Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-34506-1.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help); Check date values in:|date=(help)
Notes
- Schakel, Peter J. (2005-07-15). "The Storytelling: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, and Myth". The Way into Narnia: A Reader's Guide. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman's. pp. p. 27. ISBN 0-8028-2984-8.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - Tolkien, J.R.R. (2000). Humphrey Carpenter (ed.). The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. pp. 220, 239, 244, 283, 375–6.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help)
Further reading
- On Fairy-Stories, www.tolkien-online.com - an in-depth overview of 'On Fairy-Stories' (accessed November 2007)
- J.R.R. Tolkien on Fairy Tales, Waller Hastings, Professor of English, Northern State University (accessed November 2007) - one of several examples of summaries of the essay 'On Fairy-Stories' for university courses
- Tolkien on Fairy-Stories, forthcoming book by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson: "A new expanded edition of Tolkien's most famous, and most important essay, which defined his conception of fantasy as a literary form..." - (forthcoming, February 2008)
Selection of academic responses
- A Potion too Strong?: Challenges in Translating the Religious Significance of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to Film, Jeffrey Mallinson, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, Volume I, Spring 2002 - refers to 'On Fairy-Stories' in relation to filming 'The Lord of the Rings'
- Faith Seeking Fantasy: Tolkien on Fairy Stories, Anthony J. Kelly, Theology@McAuley, Issue 3, Banyo Edition, February 2003 - theological response to 'On Fairy-Stories'
