Which means of course "elfstones are forever" in Old Adunaic.
Thanks, NZ, for a good week of discussions. I remain surprised at your
vehemence about Tolkien's willingness to borrow earlier story-threads for his
mythology. I actually like learning from you what the borrowings are, since
mostly I have no idea.
It's not the borrowing and re-use that annoy me -- that is an ancient and
honorable artistic tradition -- but the choppiness of the final pastiche.
Tolkien never was able to smooth over the Silmarillion, and in fact may have
believed that the unevenness was the point. Nevertheless we are left comparing
it to his narrative masterwork, Lord of the Rings, and it suffers by
comparison, no matter how unfair the comparison might be.
The Beren and Luthien tale comes off best of all the stories/chapters, to my
memory, possibly just because Tolkien put more effort into it, and possibly
because it ties so much into LoTR and shines by reflection.
No matter. I've really enjoyed your handling of it, because your
literary/scholarly background is so perfect for analyzing stuff like this.
Thanks again, and good luck with the upcoming exciting
events!
Join us in the Reading Room.
'Thinking hard'.
squire online:
Footerama: "Tolkien would have LOVED it!" (improved!)
The Valaquenta discussion
