The Englishness of LOTR
I'm sure someone else has noticed that the flavor of LOTR is much different than that of modern fantasy. The language for one, especially in the Silmarillion, is very archaic and academic- not in a bad way, but it reads in the same way that a translation of Beowulf or The Odyssey might be written. It seems less like you're reading fiction and more like you're reading the history and myths of a long lost civilization. I also felt like the sections that take place in the Shire and the conversations in general have a very "English" feel about them, which had to have been intentional. I don't think any other "popular" fantasy writer would dare write in this way, but I could be wrong.
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Isil was first wrought and made ready, and first rose into the realms of the stars, and was the elder of the new lights, as was Telperion of the Trees. Then for a while the world had moonlight, and many things stirred and woke that had waited long in the sleep of Yavanna. The servants of Morgoth were filled with amazement, but the Elves of the Outer Lands looked up in delight; and even as the Moon rose above the darkness in the West, Fingolfin let blow his silver trumpets and began his march into Middle Earth, and the shadows of his host went long and black before them.
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04-15-2002, 06:35 PM
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