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#1 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,031
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the original Foreword
Christopher Tolkien notes 'On one of his copies of the First Edition my father wrote beside it: 'This Foreword I should wish very much in any case to cancel. Confusing (as it does) real personal matters with the 'machinery' of the Tale is a serious mistake.'" The Peoples of Middle-earth
I feel like I am misunderstanding Tolkien here, as I don't see the confusion in the original Foreword -- I mean not to question the man himself [which means I am], and obviously or arguably he should know best, but what lines necessarily confuse the conceit? To my mind Tolkien 'as translator' of parts of The Red Book can himself have children of course, be friends with Inklings and even comment on whether or not the present translation is a children's story or has been given the quality of one, subjective as that might be. And a translator can be in part author of the modern book, which can explain some modern references anyway, like a 'train' for example. I think it's a bit fanciful to say that the Shire map was approved by Hobbits, but then again English speaking Hobbits who preserved knowledge of Westron and the Tengwar would go some way to explaining how Tolkien translated the original [if Elfwine's Old English translation of The Silmarillion was 'out' of the picture for good]. Plus fanciful isn't bad. Are there Hobbits in Oxford? Why not. Perhaps they were rustic and 'wild', and shorter, than in days long past, but where did JRRT lay his hands on a copy of the Red Book in the first place? Sorry if you [anyone reading this] don't have a way to read the original Foreword, but anyway, again I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly, or if I am, perhaps I'm straining too far to allow the conceit to be easily accepted... ... and Tolkien essentially agreed? ![]() |
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#2 |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,977
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. . . goes off looking for original Foreword . . . .
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
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#3 | |
Banshee of Camelot
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 5,830
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You can find that Squatter copied the first foreword in post #25 of this chapter-by chapter thread from 2004) http://www.forum.barrowdowns.com./sh...ad.php?t=10785
Quote:
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Yes! "wish-fulfilment dreams" we spin to cheat our timid hearts, and ugly Fact defeat! |
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#4 |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,036
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This is the first I've seen of the original Forward, and thanks to Guinevere for that quote. The later version in LOTR strikes me as avoiding the "translator" issue, concentrating instead on the real-world observations of the author in relation to the book. It seems the translator narrative was instead moved to the Prologue, and maybe that's what Tolkien had an issue with: wanting the Forward to be a largely separate entity from the Prologue. Just my unscholarly two cents.
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#5 |
Cryptic Aura
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 5,977
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Thanks, Guinevere for that link. It's wonder when members remember early threads.
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I’ll sing his roots off. I’ll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. |
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