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06-08-2007, 06:51 AM | #11 | ||
Illustrious Ulair
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
Posts: 4,240
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Quote:
My argument has always been that what Tolkien said has to been seen in the context of what he wrote & when he wrote it, & most importantly who he was writing to. The idea that every single statement he ever made, on the record & off, to correspondents in personal letters, to newspapers, on film, in writings which were subsequently amended must all be given equal weight, is, frankly, a ludicrous position. Context is the issue. The argument here is whether anyone else can 'do a Tolkien', effectively, become another Tolkien. Quote:
This, again, is not the point. The point is whether anyone else can do what Tolkien did, have Tolkien's insight in to his own creation sufficient to enable them to create convincing stories set in his world. The answer is no. The other point which seems to be consistently ignored is Tolkien's absolute control over his creation - the fact that he had the power to change, amend & completely do away with whole chunks of his creation as it suited him. No other writer can do that. Tolkien could take off on the most extreme tangent (read 'Myths Transformed') & it is accepted as valid - even if many of us consider it to have been a mistake. No new writer could make even minor changes without being criticised. Personal interpretation/experience is not the issue here. We all experience M-e in a unique way. That is essential. What you seem to be asking for is another writer's personal interpretation to be given extra weight by being officially sanctioned. Fanfic is fanfic - whether its free via the Internet, or published by Harper Collins in a nice hardback with the JRRT monogram on it & priced at Ł18.99. If its not by JRRT its fanfic. |
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