/lit/ - Literature

>>18208157
Yes. Even apart from the "secondary-creation" that he (and his son Christopher) constructed through a literal lifetime of labor, his brilliance is also in his careful transportation of the grand-mythic-ethos that is found in Nordic mythologies into the English language.

>Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.

He was a genius in capturing the cadence and intention of ancient diction and (re)presenting it for a contemporary audience. His tragedy lies in the fact that he did this at a point in time when academia and the literary world were only interested in wanking themselves into self-imposed experimental impotence and experiencing an absolute nadir point in regards to spiritual sensibility. In other words, Tolkien's work was reaching towards an expression the sacred at exactly the same point when the mainstream was withdrawing from it with cynical scorn.

>Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.

And some people say that Tolkien can't write.

>Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.

>>13036988
Yes this is definitely something which Tolkien was trying to convey. It is a form of mythology for our own world so there is this element of transitioning from an idealised past which is symbolically closer to the gods, and a more profane future on the horizon dominated by man. So Tolkien was illuminating what it is about heroic men who are able to triumph over overwhelming darkness which pervades their world. It is a lot to do with sacrifice, a lot to do with courage, there is much to be said about certain figures embodying the Christ-archetype which I don't really have time to type out right now. Remember Tolkien wasn't trying to deliver a 'message' and hated allegory, but he was drawing deeply on mythological and religious truths. The force of evil is depicted as overwhelming for a reason. Many times the characters are caught in a space where to stay/go back is death, but to go forward is also pretty much death, and of course this is the overarching story. Tolkien lays out quite neatly what happens when we give into despair, versus what happens when we trust to hope EVEN (or particularly) when we have no reason to. This theme can be seen in broader plot points as well as the smaller musings of many characters. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of the book friend.