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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
Is that spirit as opposed to letter?
And does it include parody?
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Hmmm. Did Tolkien write parody...? How shall we qualify Giles?
And with regards to Spirit vs Letter, my reaction would be-- Perhaps neither; Perhaps either; Perhaps both. If both then it calls us higher still. Or as Lewis said "Further up and further in".
I think it depends on what you are writing. If you are writing something as an addendum to Tolkien's existing writings, then IMO you are oblidged to strive for canonicity as best you can both of spirit AND letter. By letter I mean fitting in the details to the best of your ability. And if you are writing something to fill in something he only hinted at and gave very few connections to, then your freedom is increased, and you are less obliged to follow his work "to the letter."
If you are writing outside the legendarium, which I suspect is also included in this discussion, then spirit becomes the primary thing. At which point I would ask, why worry about the spirit of Tolkien, really? Write what is in your heart; if your heart is full of light, so will the fruit of your work be. The whole thing goes to a higher plane.