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The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ideas on Fairy-Stories

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The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ideas on Fairy-Stories Inklings Forever Volume 8 A Collection of Essays Presented at the Joint Meeting of The Eighth Frances White Ewbank Article 13 Colloquium on C.S. Lewis & Friends and The C.S. Lewis & The Inklings Society Conference 5-31-2012 The evelopmeD nt of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ideas on Fairy- stories Paul E. Michelson Huntington University Follow this and additional works at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Michelson, Paul E. (2012) "The eD velopment of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ideas on Fairy-stories," Inklings Forever: Vol. 8 , Article 13. Available at: https://pillars.taylor.edu/inklings_forever/vol8/iss1/13 This Essay is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis & Friends at Pillars at Taylor University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Inklings Forever by an authorized editor of Pillars at Taylor University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INKLINGS FOREVER, Volume VIII A Collection of Essays Presented at the Joint Meeting of The Eighth FRANCES WHITE EWBANK COLLOQUIUM ON C.S. LEWIS & FRIENDS and THE C.S. LEWIS AND THE INKLINGS SOCIETY CONFERENCE Taylor University 2012 Upland, Indiana The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ideas on Fairy-stories Paul E. Michelson Huntington University Michelson, Paul E. “The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ideas on Fairy-stories.” Inklings Forever 8 (2012) www.taylor.edu/cslewis 1 The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ideas on Fairy-storiesi Paul E. Michelson Huntington University I. INTRODUCTION College, Oxford in January 1938 following the publication of The Hobbit. But when In 1938, J. R. R. Tolkien was asked the time came, "in lieu of a paper 'on' fairy on very short notice if he would give the stories", Tolkien read a revised and 1939 Andrew Lang Lecture at the expanded ("about 50% longer") version University of St Andrews in Scotland. of his story Farmer Giles of Ham.iv Rather surprisingly (Tolkien was a The importance and significance notoriously slow and perfectionistic of the Lang lecture was clear to Tolkien as writer), he agreed and—motivated by the he looked back. It was "written," he told pressures of a deadline and a creative dry us in 1964, "in the same period (1938- spell as he labored over a potential sequel 39), when The Lord of the Rings was to The Hobbit—he systematically beginning to unroll itself and to unfold elaborated his thoughts on Fairy-stories prospects of labour and exploration in yet for the first time. unknown country as daunting to me as to Tolkien had, of course, been the hobbits. At about that time we had thinking about and discussing "myth" reached Bree, and I had then no more with his friend and colleague C. S. Lewis notion than they had of what was to for more than a decade, including an early become of Gandalf or who Strider was; 1930s poem on "Mythopoeia"—the and I had begun to despair of surviving to making of myths, written after a late night find out."v discussion with Lewis about the purpose The truth of the matter, as he of myth that was a crucial step in Lewis's wrote to his publisher in 1938, was that conversion to Christianity.ii However, in "The sequel to The Hobbit has Tolkien's thought, "myths" and "Fairy- remained where it stopped. It has stories" are different. As he was to point lost my favour and I have no idea out in the Lang lecture, Fairy-stories are what to do with it. For one thing "a new form, in which man is become a the original Hobbit was never creator or sub-creator." Put another way, intended to have a sequel...I am since "fantasy is one of the functions of really very sorry: for my own sake the Fairy Tale...what is normal and has as well as yours I would like to become trite [is] seen suddenly from a produce something....I hope new angle: and...man becomes sub- inspiration and the mood will creator."iii return. It is not for lack of wooing Characteristically, Tolkien had that it holds aloof. But my wooing had an earlier opportunity to discuss the of late has been perforce subject when he was invited to give a lecture on Fairy-stories at Worcester 2 The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ideas on Fairy-stories · Paul E. Michelson intermittent. The Muses do not like once as juvenilia; but if a glance at such half-heartedness."vi their contents show that will not do, then where are you? There is Part of the problem, Tolkien later what is called a 'marketing wrote to W. H. Auden, was that he had problem'. Uncles and aunts can be made the mistake of tailoring The Hobbit persuaded to buy Fairy Tales (when to children: "It was unhappily really classed as Juvenilia) for their meant, as far as I was conscious, as a nephews and nieces, or under the 'children's story', and as I had not learned pretence of it. But, alas, there is no sense then, and my children were not class Senilia from which nephews quite old enough to correct me, it has and nieces could choose books for some of the sillinesses of manner caught Uncles and Aunts with uncorrupted unthinkingly from the kind of stuff I had tastes."x had served me....I deeply regret them. So do intelligent children."vii Finally, and obviously, the Lang Thus, as he put it in yet another lecture was significant since it provided letter, the core for Tolkien's continuing interest in a subject that eventually appeared as "I had not freed myself from the his seminal essay " ." contemporary delusions about On Fairy-stories 'fairy-stories' and children. I had to think about it, however, before I II. THE ANDREW LANG LECTURE, gave an 'Andrew Lang' lecture at St ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY, 1939 Andrews On Fairy-stories; and I The lecture was named for must say I think the result was Andrew Lang (1844-1912), the entirely beneficial to The Lord of the pioneering collector of twelve volumes of Rings, which was a practical the "colour " fairy tale books between demonstration of the view that I 1889 and 1910. St Andrews had expressed. It was not written 'for originally proposed Gilbert Murray for children', or for any kind of person the 1938-1939 lecture, Hugh Macmillan in particular, but for itself."viii for 1939-1940, and Tolkien for 1940- Verlyn Flieger and Douglas 1941. Neither Murray nor Macmillan Anderson summarize: "The lecture On were able to give the 1938-1939 lecture, Fairy-stories came at a critical juncture in so in October 1938, Tolkien was asked if Tolkien's creative development. It he would step in. He agreed and on marked the transition between his two November 25, 1938, the appointments of best-known works, but it also functioned Tolkien (1938-1939), Murray (1939- as the bridge connecting them, facilitating 1940), and Macmillan (1940-1941) were the perceptible improvement in tone and announced. In February 1939, Tolkien treatment from one to the other."ix suggested March 8, 1939 as the date for Tolkien was also becoming quite the lecture, which was accepted.xi frustrated and more than a little peeved The lecture, delivered under the with being pigeon-holed as a "children's title "Fairy Stories,"xii raised three writer." questions: "What are Fairy-stories? What is their origin? What is the use of "It remains a sad fact that xiii adults writing fairy stories for them?" These questions were dealt adults are not popular with with in a magisterial sweep that could be publishers or booksellers. They said to have done for Fairy-stories what have to find a niche. To call their Tolkien's 1936 British Academy lecture works fairy-tales places them at 3 The Development of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Ideas on Fairy-stories · Paul E. Michelson on "Beowulf" did for the study of early anecdote that he wrote for a revision of English literature.xiv the lecture, but wound up omitting in the After debunking the idea that 1947 essay: "I once received a salutary Fairy-stories are about beings of lesson. I was walking in a garden with a diminutive size, Tolkien's response to the small child....I said like a fool: "'Who lives first question was that Fairy-stories "are in that flower?' Sheer insincerity on my not generally 'stories about fairies', but part. 'No one,' replied the child. 'There about Faery—stories covering all of that are Stamens and a Pistil in there.' He land or country which holds many things would have liked to tell me more about it, beside 'fairies' (of any size), besides elves but my obvious and quite unnecessary or fays or dwarves, witches, or dragons it surprise had shown too plainly that I was holds the sun the moon the sky the earth stupid so he did not bother and walked and us ourselves. (sic)" Indeed, if one away."xx looked at the collection of Fairy-stories In the lecture, Tolkien also gathered by Andrew Lang and his wife, identified the three faces of Fairy-stories Tolkien pointed out, "the stories about "the Mystical (towards God divine), the fairies are few (and the whole poor) but Magical (towards the world) and the [are mostly] about men women and Critical (towards man in laughter and children in the presence of the tears).
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