[littlemanpoet]

An effective poem, the kind that 'blows the top of your head off' ... depends on a disciplined negotiation between form and meaning.

Nar, this is excellent.

... catharsis is achieved below the style, sound, rhythm and polish of the text. Catharsis comes from a negotiation between the deeper form (the plot, characters and terms under which their world exists) and the deeper meaning (the themes). Ok, now have I solved it? Have I reached the definition of quality along the lines of catharsis?

Maybe. I need this expanded upon. I don't know if this is the right question, but what is the content of the deeper form and deeper meaning that sets LotR apart? Or am I asking for specifics where you were trying to generalize?

Guy Gavriel Kay comes to mind as a fresh approach which almost (in my mind) succeeded where most efforts in fantasy failed, in his Fionavar Tapestry series. His evocation is well done and his content is more adapted to a non-theist mentality, I'm thinking. Maybe that's what causes the 'almost' for me, which may say more about me than Kay. Any thoughts on this?

Belin, welcome to the thread. You need not apologize for intruding.

...fantasy, used properly, is a good way to go about [That Thing so difficult to describe and so necessary] because all the literalisms and all the mundanity doesn't have to get in the way. It can go straight into you without having to pass through the stupid details of your life and yet does not in the slightest eschew detail.

I think this is a useful insight, and if it was said already by someone else on the thread I'm glad you brought it out again. That Thing is necessary.

I have never been exposed to Goya or Rilke. Please inform Belin.