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rangerfromthenorth
Rivendell
Feb 1 2013, 6:14pm
Views: 2160
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sorry, I am mixing my memory up here, I meant to refer Tolkien's first writings of Tom which were written and published before LOTR, my apologies. This is what Tolkien was referencing in his 1937 letter where he refers to Tom as the "Spirit of vanishing Oxfordshire countryside," a work that was not written nor intended to be explanatory of Middle Earth. Sometimes people use this in the Tom debate when though it is explanatory later in the letter Tolkien writes that he may not include Tom in further writings, but if he does he will have to "enlarge him" and that he was consumed with creating a "consistent world." So essentially I saying we need to understand the context of each of his writings. For there is much more in some his other writings that would have supported my arguments (especially the existence of oterh spirits) but i did not want to place to much emphasis on early manuscripts that Tolkien did not carry to their fulfillment because there may or may not be reason for them being changed or left out.
As far as the Silmarrillion goes, it is not completed though it is the most completed of those works that we possess. So for "canon" I mean that the authority of different manuscripts need to be considered, Tolkien was constantly editing and narrowing and reshaping his stories to make them more consistent. So, for example, The balrogs should we heed the early manuscripts that there we many or the later ones when Tolkien decided they were limited in number? I think clearly the later texts are more representative than the first words he wrote about the Fall of Gondolin when the world was not yet fully developed. Part of the problem, and the joy, is that Tolkien is so popular that even his drafts and notes have been published. They are insightful but should not be viewed as authoritative when they prove contradictory to later writings. much like when you write a draft of a paper it would be unfair to say the first draft is as authoritative to your intent as the last.
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Subject
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Time
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Tom Bombadil As the Spirit of the Music of the Ainur
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rangerfromthenorth
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Jan 17 2013, 4:27pm
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Thanks for this!
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Radagast-Aiwendil
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Jan 17 2013, 8:57pm
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Great Theory
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Lost_istari
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Jan 18 2013, 7:56pm
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Thank you much
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rangerfromthenorth
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Jan 22 2013, 2:07pm
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Agreed
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CuriousG
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Jan 23 2013, 5:53pm
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A quick thought on children of Ainur
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Lost_istari
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Jan 24 2013, 6:46am
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Excellent theory!
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FlyingSerkis
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Jan 23 2013, 9:13pm
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Thank You
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rangerfromthenorth
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Jan 23 2013, 9:33pm
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Regarding Bombadil's boundedness
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Plurmo
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Jan 28 2013, 5:59am
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I Know
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Tolkien Forever
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Jan 30 2013, 8:38pm
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"None has yet defined him, for Tom is an enigma"
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squire
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Jan 31 2013, 1:27am
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Great poem/
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CuriousG
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Jan 31 2013, 1:34am
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Great Poem Indeed
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rangerfromthenorth
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Jan 31 2013, 2:29am
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It is certainly a great topic to debate
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squire
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Feb 1 2013, 3:14am
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a "most" dangerous discussion
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rangerfromthenorth
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Feb 1 2013, 3:32pm
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ATB was published after LOTR.
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N.E. Brigand
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Feb 1 2013, 5:55pm
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yes yes it was
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rangerfromthenorth
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Feb 1 2013, 6:14pm
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thats where the confusion came from
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rangerfromthenorth
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Feb 1 2013, 6:22pm
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Tolkien did alter the poem for its 1962 re-publication.
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N.E. Brigand
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Feb 1 2013, 7:51pm
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Very nicely stated
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squire
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Feb 1 2013, 8:38pm
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This may interest you.
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N.E. Brigand
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Feb 1 2013, 5:46am
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