![]() ![]() ![]() That's why the Tolkien and his estate, for years, made no attempt to "control" his intellectual property. The whole point of myths is to be retold. He knew that it is in the nature of mythology that there is no such thing as a definitive version. He didn't use the word lightly or randomly. I think, now, that phrase is key to understanding his work. Occasionally in these robust discussions, someone would mention Tolkien's dream of creating "a mythology for England". These were the people who had gobbled up each of the interminable volumes of Trash Reconstructed From Tolkien's Litterbox & Blotter, known in the trade as the History of Middle-earth, as well as collections of the great man's letters, reminiscences by other people who knew him, and Vague Hints His Son's Housekeeper's Daughter's Boyfriend Told This Guy Who Wrote To My Local Paper. To compromise in pursuit of that ultimate truth - that would be sheer apostacy. ![]() It was, it seemed, the most important thing in the world to be able to correctly divine the precise image that was in Tolkien's mind when he wrote the scene. "Why can't we each have our own image?" Which, of course, made me no friends at all, and pretty soon I learned to stay out of those threads. "It's not as if anyone was going to dig up a fossilised Balrog and prove the answer either way", I said. you don't know what vitriol is.Īt one stage I tried to play peacemaker. Until you've seen a bunch of Tolkien geeks arguing, and I swear to all that's holy I'm not exaggerating this even slightly, for weeks on end about whether Balrogs had wings or whether the Rohirrim used stirrups. Far more so than the real nerds who exchanged lists of reasons why one Star Trek captain was better than another. They are (or were), I discovered, among the most argumentative people on the Internet, back in the day. Back before the Lord of the Rings movies came out, I used to enjoy arguing with Tolkien fans. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |