TOLKIEN: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

TOLKIEN: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

Also by Brian Rosebury and from the same publishers ART AND DESIRE: A STUDY IN THE AESTHETICS OF FICTION

Tolkien A Critical Assessment BRIAN ROSEBURY Principal Lecturer i" English University of Central Lancashire M Palgrave Macmillan

Brian Rosebury 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published in Great Britain 1992 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-22135-6 ISBN 978-1-349-22133-2 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22133-2 12 11 04 03 10 9 02 01 8 7 00 99 6 5 4 3 98 97 96 95 First published in the United States of America 1992 by Scholarly and Reference Division, S1. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-07583-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rosebury, Brian. Tolkien: a critical assessment / Brian Rosebury p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-312-07583-5 1. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reue!), 1892-1973-Criticism and interpretation. 2. Fantastic literature, English-History and criticism. L Title. PR6039.032Z818 1992 828'.91209-dc20 91-33345 ClP

For Janice and Tom

Contents Acknowledgements and AlJbreviations viii Introduction 1 1 The Lord of the Rings (1): Conception 7 2 The Lord of the Rings (2): Execution 54 3 Minor Works, 1914-1973 81 4 Tolkien and the Twentieth Century 121 Notes 153 Index 161 vii

Acknowledgements and Abbreviations I am grateful to Unwin Hyman Ltd (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd) for permission to quote from their published works of J. R. R. Tolkien. I acknowledge permission from Houghton Mifflin Company for quoting from the following: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright 1954, 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright renewed 1982 by Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R. Tolkien and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright 1954, 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright renewed 1982 by Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R. Tolkien and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright 1955, 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien. Copyright renewed 1983 by Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael F.R. Tolkien and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. In quoting from Tolkien's principal works I have used the following editions, generally on the principle of choosing the most satisfactory edition which is widely available. Abbreviations used in the text and notes are shown in bold. The Lord of the Rings, Second edition, 1966: The Fellowship of the Ring (FR) The Two Towers (TT) The Return of the King (RK) The Hobbit, Fourth edition, 1946 Farmer Giles of Ham, paperback edition, 1983 Tree and Leaf, Second edition, 1988 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, paperback edition, 1990 viii

Acknowledgements and Abbreviations ix Smith of Wootton Major, 1967 The SiImariIIion, 1977 (S) Unfinished Tales, 1980 (UT) Mr Bliss, 1982 In the case of the series entitled The History of Middle-earth, which has currently reached its eighth volume, I have used the sole available edition: hardback and paperback versions of these volumes have identical pagination. I have used the following abbreviations: The Book of Lost Tales I: (L Tl) The Book of Lost Tales II: (L T2) The Lays of Beleriand: Lays My debts to other Tolkien scholars and critics will in general be evident from the text and Notes. But any writer on Tolkien at this date will feel particular gratitude for the editorial work of Christopher Tolkien and Humphrey Carpenter, and for the latter's biographical writings, which form a major, though not the only, source of the biographical information used in Chapter 4. I would also like to acknowledge a considerable debt to a work which is not mentioned in the text but which guided me to much invaluable material, Judith A. Johnson's bibliographical work]. R. R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism (Greenwood Press, 1986). I am grateful to my family, friends, colleagues and students for their encouragement during the writing of the book; and especially to Janice Wardle, who also read the draft chapters as I completed them and rescued me from numerous infelicities of style. For the remaining lapses, of scholarship, argument or expression, I am alone responsible.