have time to give you a proper answer with cites from Letter 165, other
letters, the Foreward to the Second Edition, Leaf by Niggle, "On
Fairy-stories," etc. And I confess that I may well have let my personal
feelings enter into this, as you confess you might have a bias of your
own. All I can tell you is that I have read many of Tolkien's
explanations about the origin of LotR, and I judge the explanation he offered
in the interview that prompted Letter 165 sounded different, and more
defensive, than his other explanations. Obviously you disagree. At
this point I think we will have to leave it at
that.
“I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be acceptable just as a story.)” (From Tolkien Letter # 131.)
Tips for posting in the Reading Room.
