LotR - Foreword - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 01-08-2008, 01:21 PM

I read Hammond and Scull's Reader's Companion with great interest and found some remarks that gave me a fresh look at the Foreword. First of all, I read the original Foreword for the first time since the last discussion; it was interesting to see how the translator conceit was emphasized in it. I smiled over Tolkien's reference to the study of Hobbits as having "no practical use" - it reminded me of his lecture that referred to the development of his languages as a "secret vice".

It amuses me that the author is more tolerant than some of his fans; he allowed those who aren't interested in his appendices on languages etc. to "neglect these pages; and the strange names that they meet they may, of course, pronounce as they like."

The thought that I found most fascinating was the fact that both versions of Tolkien's Foreword contain spoilers for those who haven't yet read the story. Did you notice those when you first read it? Did you read the Foreword first, or not at all? Let's have a closer look and see what spoilers lurk there!

note: For those who do not have a book that includes the original Foreword, Squatter posted it here in the first discussion.

01-08-2008, 01:21 PM	#34
Estelyn Telcontar Princess of Skwerlz Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles) Posts: 7,500	I read Hammond and Scull's Reader's Companion with great interest and found some remarks that gave me a fresh look at the Foreword. First of all, I read the original Foreword for the first time since the last discussion; it was interesting to see how the translator conceit was emphasized in it. I smiled over Tolkien's reference to the study of Hobbits as having "no practical use" - it reminded me of his lecture that referred to the development of his languages as a "secret vice". It amuses me that the author is more tolerant than some of his fans; he allowed those who aren't interested in his appendices on languages etc. to "neglect these pages; and the strange names that they meet they may, of course, pronounce as they like." The thought that I found most fascinating was the fact that both versions of Tolkien's Foreword contain spoilers for those who haven't yet read the story. Did you notice those when you first read it? Did you read the Foreword first, or not at all? Let's have a closer look and see what spoilers lurk there! note: For those who do not have a book that includes the original Foreword, Squatter posted it here in the first discussion. __________________ 'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' Last edited by Estelyn Telcontar; 01-08-2008 at 01:29 PM.