Canon: what ARE we babbling about?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by davem

Its a story that makes use of the Legendarium. & which Tolkien attempted to integrate into it at a later date. Whether he succeeded or not is the question.

In this sense, it makes use of The Sil, but it does not make use of LotR, it cannot, as it caused LotR to come into being. Without The Hobbit there would be no Ring, no quest and no LotR. We would have The Sil (possibly, if it was published, but it may just as likely have remained in Tolkien's desk) but there would be no LotR and probably no massive fandom.

Considering style and tone and whether The Hobbit fits with the style and tone of LotR, it certainly does, especially in the earlier parts of the book (LotR), and in reference later on (humour continues throughout the book). LotR in itself is shifting in tone and style and at the end it again echoes The Hobbit. If anything doesn't 'fit' it might be argued that it in fact could be The Sil which is very different in tone and style not only to The Hobbit but to LotR. The difference is much more marked between LotR and The Sil than between The Hobbit and LotR. However, I do not think any of the texts ought to be separated from the Legendarium merely due to stylistic properties.

As I've already said, a dislike of tone or style is usually a matter of taste. There are many many serious readers who do not enjoy the tone of the chapters dealing with the battle for Gondor but there are more who do appreciate the change in style and for whom this does not break the enchantment.

I think that what is at the heart of this is that Flieger's enchantment was broken by The Hobbit - maybe her taste veers towards the epic and the serious but for many more readers, the whimsical also has a strong appeal, as shown in the love for Tom Bombadil. The point Flieger made about 'pigwiggenry' was a moot point, a question of taste again. There is no evidence to prove that Tolkien thought his own work was 'pigwiggenry' - in fact judging by the words he uses to describe pigwiggenry, The Hobbit is anything but that.