Stolen Dumbledore - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Cailín · 07-25-2005, 01:38 AM

I'm a fan of both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I can't help but loving JKR's writing style and the way her characters and dialogue seem to be so completely natural.

As I read a lot of fantasy, I've noticed many modern fantasy books seem to be ripping off Tolkien in one way or another. It's just so that Tolkien set a standard for what epic fantasy should be like, and copying is always the safest way to success. However, I do not feel JKR's work to be such a rip-off. Though there are similar themes in both books, these are timeless themes taken directly from mythology and ancient stories and all good stories have those in common. The world that JKR creates is essentially very different from Tolkien's world, as is her style and general plot. While popular fantasy writers like Robert Jordan - and others: believe me, I have seen far worse than him - just seem to copy the story with different names, it appears to me Tolkien only mildly influenced JKR. Both have turned to mythology and folklore (admittedly, since this was Tolkien's field of expertise, he seems to be somewhat more knowledgeable concerning these) to create their world.

While JKR's references might be a little obvious sometimes, being an English student myself I have read Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems and some famous dialogue from LotR are taken directly from these poems - Tolkien only rephrased them a little.

There are hardly any stories that are completely original anymore. Especially when you look at genre-fiction like fantasy and sci-fi. I see both Tolkien and JKR as writers who gave this genre a new impulse, though not necessarily as revolutional inventors.

07-25-2005, 01:38 AM	#11
Cailín Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lurking in the shadows. Posts: 711	interesting I'm a fan of both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. I can't help but loving JKR's writing style and the way her characters and dialogue seem to be so completely natural. As I read a lot of fantasy, I've noticed many modern fantasy books seem to be ripping off Tolkien in one way or another. It's just so that Tolkien set a standard for what epic fantasy should be like, and copying is always the safest way to success. However, I do not feel JKR's work to be such a rip-off. Though there are similar themes in both books, these are timeless themes taken directly from mythology and ancient stories and all good stories have those in common. The world that JKR creates is essentially very different from Tolkien's world, as is her style and general plot. While popular fantasy writers like Robert Jordan - and others: believe me, I have seen far worse than him - just seem to copy the story with different names, it appears to me Tolkien only mildly influenced JKR. Both have turned to mythology and folklore (admittedly, since this was Tolkien's field of expertise, he seems to be somewhat more knowledgeable concerning these) to create their world. While JKR's references might be a little obvious sometimes, being an English student myself I have read Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems and some famous dialogue from LotR are taken directly from these poems - Tolkien only rephrased them a little. There are hardly any stories that are completely original anymore. Especially when you look at genre-fiction like fantasy and sci-fi. I see both Tolkien and JKR as writers who gave this genre a new impulse, though not necessarily as revolutional inventors.