[Child of the 7th Age]

Littlemanpoet,

This is exactly the case. Remember that Tolkien had three close friends in college who all had dreams of setting the world on fire with their writing. Two of the three were killed in the war. He and his other surviving friend stated that, whatever they managed to accomplish in life, would essentially be carrying on and taking up the burden for those who were now gone.

The tone of the 1920s was very different than what came before. Alienation became a common theme in literature for those who rejected the canons of the past, especially for those writers who had participated in the War. Tolkien and his group were different because they sought to express their alienation from modern culture by clinging to the values of the past.

I think the original Sea-bell does, in part, represent the fate of the soldiers who stared into the face of hell, came back changed, but neither their perception or contribution were fully acknowledged by society. As Tolkien grew older, he seems to have extended this feeling of alienation to the creative process itself-- the difficulty of breaking into the faerie realm, and the inability to share this experience with others in its true form.

sharon

[ January 20, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]