Thursday, February 25, 2016

Tolkien: The Father of Fantasy

   Tolkien is the father of fantasy. He took myth and legend and superstition and wrapped it allup into a cohesive universe, the first of its kind, one that he worked tirelessly to make as real as possible by utilizing what we now refer to as "world building".

   A professor of English, language and philology, Tolkien's masterful manipulation of words and sound really helped to solidify his works, to make them more real even though they were fantastical. I've got a collection of his extended works including his Appendices and the Silmarillion, and it's really staggering how much of this world the man brought to life with his writing. From locations to factions to minor events to wars and creatures, he seemed keen on getting a little bit of everything in his world. He even introduced the idea of a world-changing event that reshapes continents and dooms particular peoples. He literally created just about every fantasy trope in one way or another, most of which are still derived from today, even sometimes without such creators knowing.

   I feel as though, if there is an afterlife, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien would be more than happy becoming a deity himself and shaping the would he wrote about for so long. He writing evokes the stuff of ancient myths but can come all the way up to a lighthearted fairytale sensibility if he so chose. For instance, much of The Hobbit is not particularly grim, and in fact, even incorporates some elements of humor or at least joviality. The very nature of The Hobbit is much lighter in tone throughout. Yes there's a dragon that murders people and yes there's a minor battle toward the end, but reclamation of Erebor pales in comparison to how dark Lord of the Rings' story is, involving a certain One Ring discovered by Bilbo and all the evil surrounding its power. 

In regards to LotR, a compelling concept arose after reading some of the extended Tolkien works - the fact that Sauron was once merely a lieutenant in Morgoth's army. That alone gives you some insight into how bad a dude Morgoth/Melkor must have been. And that's exactly the sort of stuff I find fascinating, the small details or changing of the guard in stories that really bring the mythos to life. And Tolkien absolutely succeeded in doing that, just look at literally anything with common fantasy elements and you'll see him.

No comments:

Post a Comment