Tolkien & English Renaissance Drama - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

William Cloud Hicklin · 03-03-2019, 06:49 PM

While Tolkien certainly had the familiarity with Shakespeare one would expect of any educated Englishman of his generation, there isn't the least suggestion he made a practice of reading forgotten plays by minor Jacobean dramatists. His area was language, not literature, and had been prominent among the Lang side of the English Faculty debates, putting forward the proposition that post-1485 literature was Mod. E, and thus wasn't worthy of University study.

I'm not sure that "Bilbo" needs a meaning, explanation, or source: it was just a funny name like Bungo, Mungo and Balbo. It doesn't clarify anything to point out that a long time ago bilboe once meant "Spanish sword"

03-03-2019, 06:49 PM	#4
William Cloud Hicklin Loremaster of Annúminas Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,330	While Tolkien certainly had the familiarity with Shakespeare one would expect of any educated Englishman of his generation, there isn't the least suggestion he made a practice of reading forgotten plays by minor Jacobean dramatists. His area was language, not literature, and had been prominent among the Lang side of the English Faculty debates, putting forward the proposition that post-1485 literature was Mod. E, and thus wasn't worthy of University study. I'm not sure that "Bilbo" needs a meaning, explanation, or source: it was just a funny name like Bungo, Mungo and Balbo. It doesn't clarify anything to point out that a long time ago bilboe once meant "Spanish sword" __________________ The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.