tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565306647868371355.post2296688943321821593..comments2024-03-28T07:36:59.427-07:00Comments on Stratofanatic's Emporium: Tolkien SyllabusStratofanatichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03942461244493426575noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565306647868371355.post-76103642497719632542017-04-16T08:35:41.402-07:002017-04-16T08:35:41.402-07:00Hi Troels,
Thanks for the comment. I'm less i...Hi Troels,<br /><br />Thanks for the comment. I'm less infatuated with The Hobbit than I used to be, and I can certainly see myself doing something like you suggest with something from the Silmarillion mythos.<br /><br />What you noticed about applying OFS to other authors is exactly what I meant with my remark about "practical literary criticism." I know some people really admire OFS, but I just personally haven't found the categories of escape, consolation, recovery to be that useful. (Eucastrophe strikes me as more applicable, but still hardly universal.) I'm on the edge even about applying these categories to Tolkien's own work. On one hand, yes, definitely -- how can you not? On the other hand, sometimes I thought the OFS categories miss out on some important issues. For example, OFS's distinction of "escape of the prisoner" vs. "flight of the deserter." Sure, escape of the prisoner sounds better. Nonetheless, the metaphor also emphasizes (1) individual over social processes, and (2) suggests that there's something we need to escape *from*, or that the current state of the world is a kind of prison. OFS, however, absolutely IS the first place one should go to start talking about Tolkien. :)Stratofanatichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942461244493426575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565306647868371355.post-86758260048531191262017-04-16T03:12:57.275-07:002017-04-16T03:12:57.275-07:00Interesting choices – I am grateful for you sharin...Interesting choices – I am grateful for you sharing your thoughts here :) <br /><br />I am not particularly impressed with <i>The Hobbit</i> (agreeing wholeheartedly with the author's own critique of the book), so I'd like to see someone skip it – possibly including instead something from the Silmarillion mythos such as e.g. <i>The Children of Húrin</i>, or possibly hand-outs from the <i>History of Middle-earth</i> series ... the <i>Athrabeth</i>, anyone?<br /><br />Your comment about <i>On Fairy-stories</i> also piques my curiosity :) I am not sure what you mean by “practical literary criticism” in this context? Personally, I have found <i>OFS</i> useful as a framework and vocabulary for discussing Tolkien's own work, but I haven't tried applying it as a framework for other authors (and I am not entirely sure of how useful it would be for that, unless the author is very strongly inspired by Tolkien also at this theoretical level). Troelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07515711722551393026noreply@blogger.com