The wrong kind of details: the components of wonder (aka lmp's rant) - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mister Underhill*** · 08-08-2002, 09:25 AM

I was thinking more of the whole yellow boots and funky rhymes routine. How many writers can you think of who could get away with "ring a ding dillo" only a little over a hundred pages into their masterwork without shattering their creative authority? That's a short list, my friend. I think Tolkien pulls it off because we sense oceans of time and a vast potency to Tom beneath the silly veneer.

You're absolutely right that unexplained (and ultimately inexplicable) phenomena such as Bombadil add to the effect of making Middle-earth seem real, as do conflicting accounts of the past and the outright misinformation of some characters.

08-08-2002, 09:25 AM	#11
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	I was thinking more of the whole yellow boots and funky rhymes routine. How many writers can you think of who could get away with "ring a ding dillo" only a little over a hundred pages into their masterwork without shattering their creative authority? That's a short list, my friend. I think Tolkien pulls it off because we sense oceans of time and a vast potency to Tom beneath the silly veneer. You're absolutely right that unexplained (and ultimately inexplicable) phenomena such as Bombadil add to the effect of making Middle-earth seem real, as do conflicting accounts of the past and the outright misinformation of some characters.