The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Purely Speculative: Limits to Elvish Creativity?

Lyta_Underhill · 07-21-2003, 11:35 PM

What an intriguing topic! I must agree with those of you who have recognized the greater "truth" in a story, as opposed to the stark reality. I believe this was the crux of an argument between Tolkien and C.S. Lewis--Lewis argued that myths, by their definition, were untrue, and Tolkien argued the exact opposite, that they were MORE true.

I do have a whimsical notion, that I cannot back up at all, but that makes me smile when I read improbable things...perhaps the telling of the story is the mythologizing of the reality into the truth! For instance, the story told of Earendil the Mariner sailing forever across the sky with the Silmaril on his brow could be a metaphor for a guiding star. What if Earendil simply disappeared? The story that is told is much more appealing than "Earendil was lost at sea, but we noticed this bright star that I'm not sure we saw before...etc. etc." Just an example of my way of thinking on this. I try not to let it intrude too far into my understanding, because it can ruin the experience. In the depths of night, I find myself wondering just how Fëanor invented the Internet and all... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I much prefer the metaphorical reality, and after much delving into scientific inquiries in the past, I am convinced that it is as valid as (or more than) the dry pursuit of facts. (One must always have a premise, a predisposition, a POV...a prejudice, if you will, in order to begin a scientific inquiry!) Then again, my mind is so open, my brains fell out long ago. But there is research that suggests that the soul and intelligence is NOT centered in the brain! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Goody!

Anyway, I do have another analogy for this sort of thing: who here has seen "Galaxy Quest?" The aliens are convinced the actors from Galaxy Quest are really who they are represented to be. They do not understand that they are acting, that they are not in reality who they portray. The whole adventure of the movie shows them in the end to be exactly who they were portrayed as being! Fiction becomes reality...truth is revealed, but not necessarily transformed from untruth...I hope that made sense! Bye now!

Cheers,
Lyta

07-21-2003, 11:35 PM	#15
Lyta_Underhill Haunted Halfling Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: an uncounted length of steps--floating between air molecules Posts: 841	What an intriguing topic! I must agree with those of you who have recognized the greater "truth" in a story, as opposed to the stark reality. I believe this was the crux of an argument between Tolkien and C.S. Lewis--Lewis argued that myths, by their definition, were untrue, and Tolkien argued the exact opposite, that they were MORE true. I do have a whimsical notion, that I cannot back up at all, but that makes me smile when I read improbable things...perhaps the telling of the story is the mythologizing of the reality into the truth! For instance, the story told of Earendil the Mariner sailing forever across the sky with the Silmaril on his brow could be a metaphor for a guiding star. What if Earendil simply disappeared? The story that is told is much more appealing than "Earendil was lost at sea, but we noticed this bright star that I'm not sure we saw before...etc. etc." Just an example of my way of thinking on this. I try not to let it intrude too far into my understanding, because it can ruin the experience. In the depths of night, I find myself wondering just how Fëanor invented the Internet and all... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] I much prefer the metaphorical reality, and after much delving into scientific inquiries in the past, I am convinced that it is as valid as (or more than) the dry pursuit of facts. (One must always have a premise, a predisposition, a POV...a prejudice, if you will, in order to begin a scientific inquiry!) Then again, my mind is so open, my brains fell out long ago. But there is research that suggests that the soul and intelligence is NOT centered in the brain! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Goody! Anyway, I do have another analogy for this sort of thing: who here has seen "Galaxy Quest?" The aliens are convinced the actors from Galaxy Quest are really who they are represented to be. They do not understand that they are acting, that they are not in reality who they portray. The whole adventure of the movie shows them in the end to be exactly who they were portrayed as being! Fiction becomes reality...truth is revealed, but not necessarily transformed from untruth...I hope that made sense! Bye now! Cheers, Lyta __________________ “…she laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth; and there is her green grave, until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after, and elanor and niphredil bloom no more east of the Sea.”