“Mr. Tolkien has succeeded more completely than any previous writer . . . in using the traditional properties of the Quest, the heroic journey, the Numinous Object, the conflict between Good and Evil . . .
[ Numinous: Of or relating to a numen; supernatural. Filled with or characterized by a sense of a supernatural presence: a numinous place. Spiritually elevated; sublime.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/numinous#ixzz1kBsurjjC ]
“At the same time most of us believe that the essence of the Good is love and freedom so that Good cannot impose itself by force without ceasing to be good.”
From W. H. Auden’s review of the Return of the King ; New York Times, January 22, 1956. [ http://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/22/books/tolkien-king.html ]
Isaiah 42: 1-4 The Servant of the LORD
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.”
Showing posts with label W. H. Auden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label W. H. Auden. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Not Keen on Tolkien
“J. R. R. Tolkien’s writing became so popular that on this day in 1966 the New York Tolkien Society’s December meeting was described in the New Yorker. Among those present at the meeting was the poet W.H. Auden.” Around the Year with C. S. Lewis and Friends compiled by Kathryn Lindskoog.
The Hobbit, the prequel to Tolkien’s Ring Trilogy, was recommended to me at the height of its popularity by my very first beau. I did not read it. I’m not sure why, but I have some ideas. Since I categorized The Hobbit as fantasy, I associated it with fairy tales and childish things. And it was popular. That always made a book unappealing to me.
I lost the beau.
But The Hobbit is one of my husband’s favorite books. He read it and C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to our daughter every night for years. I still have not read it. Maybe I should.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a woman, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The Hobbit, the prequel to Tolkien’s Ring Trilogy, was recommended to me at the height of its popularity by my very first beau. I did not read it. I’m not sure why, but I have some ideas. Since I categorized The Hobbit as fantasy, I associated it with fairy tales and childish things. And it was popular. That always made a book unappealing to me.
I lost the beau.
But The Hobbit is one of my husband’s favorite books. He read it and C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to our daughter every night for years. I still have not read it. Maybe I should.
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a woman, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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