[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by mark12_30

Cheers, old chap, and it's good to see you here.

But of course. It's precisely the kind of discussion that always has me scurrying for my keyboard.

Originally Posted by davem

Perhaps its because he put so much real mythology into his creation (modified to some extent) that we get such a strong sense of his stories being real' ... With Tolkien I get more of a sense that he's telling me something I once knew, but have forgotten - he's reminding me of the 'Truth', not simply making up a story to entertain me.

Originally Posted by mark12_30

But Tolkien (more, IMO, than other writers) takes the mythic unities deeply *inside* his characters

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

LotR was not written as one novel, it was seemingly just one part of a greater whole, a whole that was growing all the time ... The fact that we can all spend so much time endlessly discussing Tolkien's work shows that there is a lot more to it than just one novel.

Fair answers. And ones which most certainly ring true. But isn't this really the same as saying that Tolkien was simply more skilful than other authors in his use of this technique and/or that he devoted far more time and energy into doing so? (I do, of course, accept that his motives for doing so was entirely pure and devoid from commercial considerations, at least at the outset.)

Originally Posted by mark12_30

Is it possible for a reader to enjoy and understand something that others believe in but the reader does not?

Which rather implies that all those upon whom LotR has made an impact share the same, or at least similar, beliefs, and that those who do not respond to it in such a way do not share those beliefs. And I don't think that that's the case. So why is it that LotR appeals to so many different kinds of people with so many different kinds of belief, and yet leaves many others cold?

I do love your tenacity, old bean.

Well you know me. It's rather a habit.