Tolkien
Tolkien...is most important. The Hobbit is merely the adaptation to children of part of a huge private mythology of a most serious kind: the whole cosmic struggle as he sees it but mediated through an imaginary world. The Hobbit's successor, which will soon be finished, will reveal this more clearly. Private worlds have hitherto been mainly the work of decadents or, at least, mere aesthetes. This is the private world of a Christian. He is a very great man. His published works (both imaginative & scholarly) ought to fill a shelf by now: but he's one of those people who is never satisfied with a MS. The mere suggestion of publication provokes the reply 'Yes, I'll just look through it and give it a few finishing touches' --which means that he really begins the whole thing over again.~C.S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis: Volume II, Letter to Charles Brady, Oct. 29, 1944
_________________________
On this day:
1925 Lewis is elected Fellow of English Language and Literature at Magdalen College, Oxford.
1960 Joy Lewis undergoes her last surgery.
posted by Arevanye | permalink for this post |
2 comment(s)
Email this post to a friend
2 Comment(s):
Very interesting post. Opens the eyes just a bit about the struggle earlier on. Great job.
Thanks for commenting earlier too.
Yes, unlike Lewis, Tolkien labored for years to bring his works to a state where he was satisfied enough with them for publication. He was a perfectionist in every way.
You have a great idea for a blog, CC. Keep it up!
Post a Comment
<< Home