Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo & Beyond

To lkie n : Fro m Be o w u lf to Bilbo an d Be yo n d Matthew D Coom bes MA Tolkien Linguistic Aesthetics, De Montfort University - Septem ber 20 12 - In tro d u ctio n Since his birth in 1892, J ohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien walked m any paths during his life, which led him to be known as an author, a linguist, an academ ic and a m ythologist, along with less career-orientated factions denoting him as a soldier, a Rom an Catholic and a father. Therefore, it beggars logic to isolate the attributes of Tolkien’s m ultiplexed career, such that suitable references can be made in retrospect, highlighting the points in his life that pay dividends to the m an as he is known today. Th e Early Ye ars Following his father’s death in 1896, Tolkien relocated to the UK from South Africa to live with his m other, and it was here in the rural suburbs of Birm ingham that he was raised alongside a linguistic tim etable, which resulted in his pre-adolescent com m and of Latin and Greek. Inspiration was abundant at the sam e tim e in view of his subsequent works; such m usings taken from the onset of industrialisation, the prem ature dem ise of his m other and even the Welsh coal trucks that frequented the rail lines adjacent to the fam ily hom e. During his teenage years, the orphaned Tolkien was frequently shadowed by Father Morgan, who had previously rem ained central to the fam ily. Being the priest to the local Rom an Catholic com m unity, it was inevitable that Tolkien would be subject to the bonds of chastity and the associated curfews that would procure what Morgan deem ed to be a “potential intellectual prodigy” (Wood, 20 12). However, despite these efforts, Tolkien m aintained that the relationship he had previously held with his teenage sweetheart was of m oral validity and on the eve of his departure for service duty cem ented his intentions towards Edith Bratt in their m arriage in 1916; all of which following successful com pletion of his degree from Exeter College at Oxford. Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 2 Due to the onset of trench fever, Tolkien’s regim ental stint was short lived, but despite a prem ature conclusion, he gleaned further inspiration from his experiences, the likes of which would take seed in the pages of his fiction that followed. It was on his return and subsequent recovery that his professional career began. To lkie n th e Aca d e m ic It was in the sum m er of 1920 that Tolkien took up the post of Reader in English Language at Leeds University, which five years later led him to a Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship back at Oxford. This post com plim ented his existing knowledge of Anglo-Saxon heritage and Old English, and occupied the following twenty years of his academ ic career. It was here at Oxford that Tolkien founded a literary gathering known as the Coalbiters, whose m em bers would m eet regularly to read Icelandic and other Northern m yths. This group later m igrated to becom e the m ore renowned Inklings; the m em bers of whom included the likes of CS Lewis, Charles William s and other notable poets, authors and theologians. The Inklings would m eet at a public house of choice to discuss narratives and poetry, but m oreover to offer critical analysis of works in progress authored by its m em bers. Continuing to m eet into the early 1950 ’s, the sam e group played host to the unveiling of works such as Lewis’ “Out of the Silent Planet”, “The Problem of Pain”, and Tolkien’s own “The Lord of the Rings”. A further notable m om ent of Tolkien’s career cam e in 1936 when he gave an outspoken delivery to the “stuffed shirts” (Merry, 20 0 2) of the British Academ y. Rooted in his studies of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beow ulf: The Monsters and the Critics addressed criticism of the associated work that focused on the text being a viewport to Anglo-Saxon society, and in so-doing downplaying the intrinsic elem ents of the m ythology. It is here that we clearly see Tolkien’s defence for the narrative woven into such literature; som ething of which can be perceived as a pre-em ptive strike to those who would m ake it Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 3 their interest to pass sim ilar judgem ent on his own works. Solopova delivers a num ber of anecdotes in Languages, My ths and History that pairs Tolkien’s fiction to com parable historic events, and in turn it would seem logical that he would strive to m aintain the focus of his audience, so as to appreciate the m ythology which lay beneath such influences. Therefore, it would com e of no surprise that it was an ever-present concern of Tolkien that his longestablished Middle-earth folklore would be m isconstrued as a m ere vehicle to his plotlines. On Fairy -Stories followed three years later acting as a further persuasive study of building m ythologies to accom pany the narrative of the sam e genre. The focus of this work encourages the notion of a fictitious world existing in its own laws, whilst being fully realised - and done so in an attem pt to dispel any doubt of the reader, resulting in what Tolkien term s as being an “inner consistency of reality” (Tolkien, 1986: 88). Maintaining this them e, he acknowledges the reality of death and destruction akin to such writing, but with the token positive twist in the tale. This sequence of events being better known to the Tolkien reader as a “eucatastrophic” quality, which sees a tragic set of events resulting in an eventual joyous outcom e; Tolkien’s favourite exam ple being the death and resurrection of Christ, or “an echo of evangelium in the real world” as it is referred to in the aforem entioned lecture (Tolkien, 20 0 6: 155). Continuing his post at Oxford, Tolkien changed his chair to that of the Merton Professorship of English Language and Literature in 1945, and rem ained at the faculty for a further fourteen years. It was during these years that Tolkien rekindled an interest for his own fictional writing; som ething of which he had long before been preparing. This work was not only acknowledged by his peers during the aforem entioned evenings spent in m utual adm iration of fictional works, but was equally evident during his youth having been exposed daily to an inherent fam ily interest in linguistics. Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 4 To lkie n th e Lin gu is t It was in his early teenage years that Tolkien gave interest to what is known to be his first experience of an invented language. Created by his cousins, Tolkien addressed Anim alic in his essay A Secret Vice, highlighting its frivolous nature that replaced sim ple gram m atical vernacular with nam es of varying species; the sam ple below translating as “You are an Ass” (Tolkien, 20 0 6:20 0 ). “ Dog nightingale w oodpecker forty ” Following the term ination of Anim alic, attention was turned to a m ore challenging syntax known as Nevbosh, or “new nonsense”. Again created by an auxiliary fam ily m em ber, Tolkien again took interest and contributed to the vocabulary and spelling (Tolkien, 20 0 6:20 3). Whilst the m ajority of what we can decipher from the rem aining Nevbosh script appears to be a purposeful m isconstruction of English and Latin vocabulary, we also notice the early onset of Welsh influence. The use of the letter / y/ in m onosyllabic words for exam ple, and its position adjacent to consonants that consequently brands the letter as an unstressed schwa (see exam ples “fy s” and “y m ” below). This sam e influence was later adopted in the Elvish languages written by Tolkien, with the aforementioned unstressed schwa also given its own character in the associated Tengwar writing system s. This single script is again found in the aforem entioned essay, with the adjacent translation as it appears in Carpenter’s Biography (Carpenter, 20 0 0 ). Dar fy s m a vel gom co palt ‘hoc py s go iskili far m aino w oc? There w as an old m an w ho said ‘how can I possibly carry a cow ? Pro si go fy s do roc de For if I w as to ask it Do cat y m m aino bocte To get in m y pocket De volt fac soc m a taim ful gy róc!' It w ould m ake such a fearful row !’ It was then, having becom e part of a literary club at the King Edwards School in Birm ingham , that Tolkien wrote his first language. N affarin was an a priori phonetic study of Latin and Spanish, the lexicon of which containing words Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 5 from the aforem entioned Nevbosh; som e pertaining to Qeny a that evolved shortly after. Very little is known of Naffarin in term s of its surviving wordlist, however it is noticed that even at this early stage in his hobby as a linguist, Tolkien was exploiting what he believed to the m ore suited phonetic attributes of the predicated languages, and as such rem oved phonem es and digraphs accordingly. Such exam ples are known to include / w/ , / wh/ , / th/ and / sh/ , and as shown in the one rem aining script (Tolkien, 20 0 6:20 9); “ O Naffarínos cutá vu navru cangor luttos ca vúna tiéranar, dana m aga tíer ce vru encá vún' farta once y a m erúta vúna m axt' am ám en.” Ironically it was the sam e phonem es that Tolkien rem oved from his early linguistic works that were then favoured by in the languages that followed. His later Elvish work inherently using soft m utations, such as those found in colloquial Welsh m orphology, in which we find voiced plosives replaced with fricatives as well as aspirated consonants and nasal m utations used to further soften the harsher sounds associated with the aforem entioned Naffarin. In the years that followed, Tolkien continued to elaborate and evolve the Elvish languages; Queny a and Sindarin arguably becom ing the flagships of his linguistic achievem ents given their lexical diversity and expanse of content. Furtherm ore, it was his intent to construct a m eaningful background to encom pass his languages, insisting that languages them selves presupposed a m ythology. It is often the case that we see this predication realised in its opposite, whereby the narrative or dialogue has adopted to the subject m atter. As a consequence, this m ay often leave the reader juxtaposed between the real world and the “associated” constructed language. The extract from Tolkien’s letters below clearly stating his intention towards the potential of such am biguity (Carpenter, 1985:219); “ [A] prim ary ‘fact’ about m y w ork, that it is all of a piece, and fundam entally linguistic in inspiration… The invention of language is the foundation. To m e a nam e com es first and the story follow s. ” Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 6 Whilst it was in his interest to prom ote a background of legend and m ythology in his writing, it was also Tolkien’s intention to utilise a lexicon that would endorse a sim ilar significance. In the aforementioned On Fairy-Stories lecture, Tolkien concentrates on opinions that would incrim inate m odern English of diluting a once suitable language for this purpose. Taking the Latin influence as an exam ple, we notice the word spiritus carries a sim ultaneous definition of wind, breath and spirit, whereas the anglicised equivalent, spirit, is som ewhat one-dim ensional by com parison. Tolkien recognised the significance that such words have on a narrative pertaining to m ythological context and subsequently looked to em brace this concept through his own writing - the sam e literal creativity being further exasperated in the creation of his Elvish tongues. As his career at Oxford progressed into the 1930 ’s, and given his writings at the tim e were authored so with no intention of publication, Tolkien m ade a decision to branch into the realm s of the fictional writer in the fond hope that his subsequent written works would act as a m edium through which his languages could be given the recognition that in previous years they had failed to achieve. To lkie n th e Au th o r A lot of what we digest from Tolkien’s written work leaves us with an im print of the im petus behind his writing, but furtherm ore gives an insight into the m an him self; his beliefs, his m orals and his passions. From the m om ent he took residence in the suburbs of industrialised Birm ingham , Tolkien’s inspiration began to stir. It was these images, along with his experiences in the trenches of the First World War that arguably gave rise to the twist of reality we find in his fiction; exam ples of which can be seen from the uprising against Morgoth and the fall of Gondolin am ong others. The m etaphors of his own reality rarely go unnoticed by Tolkien biographers, and som ething of which was com m ented on by Roger Luckhurst in a series of lectures defending Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 7 Tolkien’s grasp of what has since become known as “real-world” fiction (Luckhurst, 20 0 8). “ Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings w as a book conceived and w orked over initially in the trenches of the First W orld W ar. The Orcs m ass in territories that bear startling resem blances to No-Man’s Land, w here m ost of his friends and com rades w ere killed ” A further exam ple of real-world fiction is highlighted in the uprising of Isengard, where we read of Fangorn Forest being cut down to stoke the fires responsible for Sauron’s creations. Tolkien’s intense passion for the environm ent was frequently exasperated during interviews in which he would declare his adm iration for nature, including his desire for com m unication with trees, hence the speaking Ent-folk of the aforem entioned Fangorn Forest. Furtherm ore was his concern for the onset of industrialisation that saw him favouring the bicycle as a m eans of transport, and vow to never make use of a m otor vehicle following the end of the Second World War. One of the m ore intriguing points of his life as an author was in 1928 when Tolkien was said to write in a blank area in a student’s paper, the phrase “in a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit”. The inspiration for this literary claim is unknown, however further elaboration of the statem ent occurred, drawing on knowledge of Arthurian legends, tales of Middle Age chivalry and m ythology, in the form of folk-tales that Tolkien would read to his children. It was during the nine years that followed that Tolkien wrote sufficient m aterial to be considered for publication. Then with the aid of a student who had convenient connections to a publisher (later to becom e Harper Collins), Tolkien saw “The Hobbit” printed in Septem ber of 1937; the first run being sold out by Christm as of the sam e year (Tolkien Collector, 20 0 3). Following the success of The Hobbit, Tolkien then prepared m ore of his legendarium into what he referred to as “Quenta Silm arillion” for the sam e publisher; this however being rejected due to its “telephone-directory dullness” (Wood, 20 12). Then rising to the challenge, he cam e back with The Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 8 Lord of the Rings which was published in three volum es during 1954-55. Criticism followed both in positive and negative form , but despite this reached its fam e in the m id 1960 ’s when the books entered the im pulse buying category in the form of a paperback, having previously discovered the hardback edition becom ing subjected to a pirated paperback edition on the cheaper, albeit illegal, publishing black m arket. Tolkien’s career then becam e som ething of a tale that grew in the telling as there was no knowing where this new found fam e would take him . However, from the m usings of the Tolkien Society (shown below - Doughan, 20 12) and recollections of his son, Sim on Tolkien, we are told of the loss of a once enthusiastic and passion-filled correspondence with those that had taken an interest in his work. Inappropriately tim e phone calls from trans-continental fanatics dem anding underhand knowledge of sequels, coupled with graffiti taking place in obscure places led Tolkien to m ove to Bournemouth, m iles away from his Oxford hom e. With all things considered, he felt com pelled to refrain from giving interviews or attending award cerem onies, and thus surrendered to a life of solitude. “ [F]ans w ere causing increasing problem s; both those w ho cam e to gaw p at his house and those, especially from California w ho telephoned at 7pm (their tim e, 3am his), to dem and to know w hether Frodo had succeeded or failed in the Quest, w hat w as the preterite of Queny an lanta, or w hether or not Balrogs had w ings… ” Tolkien also felt obligated to m ake this personal recoil a m ark of respect to his wife, who had subm itted herself to be forever trailing in the intellectual dust kicked up by his friends. However, despite m aking contact with his academ ic associates m ore difficult, this retreat m eant that the rem ainder of his life could be spent continuing his unfinished works from Middle-earth. He was also awarded an honorary Doctorate for his work in philology from the University of Liège, along with an OBE in the New Year’s Day honours in 1972. However, it was following these recognitions that Tolkien fell victim to pneum onia, and in realising the inevitable outcom e of the illness he appointed his son Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 9 Christopher (who had becom e som ething of an expert in his father’s fictional studies) to be his literary executor. J ohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien died in the Septem ber that sam e year of 1973. Th e Co n tin u atio n o f a Lite rary Le ge n d It was following Tolkien’s passing that Christopher spent twenty-five years away from the m edia continuing his father’s works, which later saw the publishing of “The Silm arillion”, the “Unfinished Tales” and twelve volum es detailing the history of Middle-earth. Those well read on the subject will have com e to realise that Middle-earth goes far beyond that which the books would have us believe to be a m ere backdrop to the narrative. This fictitious continent and the surrounding lands of Arda com e com plete with a previsualised creation story along with an initial fall and resurrection; som ething of which one m ight attribute to the religious views held in high regard by Tolkien. More recently the launch of Peter J ackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy released over two years from 20 0 1, has paved the way for a new generation of Tolkien fanatics, with the introduction of a m edium which the youth of today can associate with. However, despite the resulting success of the film s, J ackson’s work was carried out against the will of Christopher who argued his case based on the understanding that his father’s written word delivers m ore of the intended m ythology. Whilst it can be deem ed a benefit that film and television have opened a new dim ension in which to experience fictional worlds, it can still be appreciated that this com paratively passive approach m ay dilute the potential effect that the narrative m ay have on its audience. Whilst such a line of questioning m ay only be accurately recorded on a caseby-case basis, it can still be argued that the absence of Tom Bom badil, along with the surrounding Old Forest and Withywindle Valley from J ackson’s trilogy dilutes not only elem ents of the narrative, but also the history of Middle-earth. Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 10 Christopher Tolkien later m ade it his interest to pursue a legal battle against New Line Cinem a concerning unpaid royalties for the film trilogy. The successful result of which saw the Tolkien Estate awarded with substantial funds that have since allowed the trustees of the Estate to further their charitable interests. This sam e m atter of litigation initially hindered the proposed production of J ackson’s second instalm ent of The Hobbit, but the conclusion of which perm itted its continuation, having reached a m utual state which agreed that all parties involved would “look forw ard to a m utually productive and beneficial relationship in the future” (Soury, 20 0 9). Despite the argum ents for and against the popularity of Tolkien’s continuing success, it is nonetheless the shared opinion that his work as an author prevails above all and undoubtedly pertains as the reason for the future interest of works that m ay follow. As Ross Sm ith so aptly concludes in his paper Tim eless Tolkien (Sm ith, 20 0 5); “ [H]is gift as a teller of tales is the fundam ental reason for his popularity and continued success. Social concerns fluctuate over the y ear, or even over m onths, but a good read is eternal ” Equally im portant, m oreso to academ ics and readers, was Tolkien’s desire to m ake every attem pt to bypass the notion that would see the phonetic nature of words being purely arbitrary. The delineation of how well a word fits its subject was m easured on what Tolkien called “phonetic fitness” (Tolkien, 20 0 6:20 6) and that the m ain source of pleasure com es directly from the relationship between the sound and notion of a word. It is therefore of great interest to those in such fields that research is being undertaken to attribute the sounds of our language with their once-true m eaning and in turn restore the em pathy that it shares with our environm ent. This being yet another m eans by which Tolkienania is being kept alive, and considering his life-long projection of unravelling linguistic aesthetics, arguably the m ost appealing for the late J RR Tolkien. Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 11 Cite d W o rks & Re fe re n ce s I. Carpenter, H. J.R.R Tolkien: A Biography , Houghton Mifflin (20 0 0 ) II. Carpenter, H (editor). The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin (1985) III. Doughan, D. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biographical Sketch http:/ / www.tolkiensociety.org/ tolkien/ biography.htm l [online - accessed 17th J uly 20 12] IV. Luckhurst, R. Modern British Science Fiction: Sci-Fi as a literary genre, Gresham College [offline m edia – film date 8th May 20 0 8] V. Merry, J . Beow ulf and the Critics Book Review (20 0 2), http:/ / www.greenm anreview.com / book/ book_ tolkien_ beowulfandcritics.ht m l [online - accessed 16th J une 20 12] VI. Shippey, T. J.R.R Tolkien Author of the Century , HarperCollins (20 0 1) VII. Sm ith, R. Fitting Sense to Sound: Linguistic Aesthetics and Phonosem antics in the W ork of J.R.R Tolkien, West Virginia University Press (20 0 1) VIII. Sm ith, R. Tim eless Tolkien [Part 2], Cam bridge University Press (20 0 5) IX. Solopova, E. Languages, My ths and History : an Introduction to the Linguistic and Literary Background of JRR Tolkien, North Landing Books (20 0 9) X. Soury, L. The Tolkien Trust, N ew Line Cinem a and HarperCollins Settle 'Lord of the Rings' Law suit (20 0 9), http:/ / www.newswire.ca/ fr/ story/ 436557/ the-tolkien-trust-new-line-cinem a- Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 12 and-harpercollins-settle-lord-of-the-rings-lawsuit [online - accessed 19th August 20 12] XI. Tolkien, C (editor). The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essay s, HarperCollins (20 0 6) XII. Tolkien, J RR. The Tolkien Reader, Perfection Learning (1986) XIII. Unknown Author. Publication History of The Hobbit (20 0 3), http:/ / www.tolkiencollector.com/ hobbhist.htm [online - accessed 6th August 20 12] XIV. Wood, R.C. Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), http:/ / www.leaderu.com / hum anities/ wood-biography.htm l [online accessed 10 th J une 20 12] Tolkien: From Beowulf to Bilbo and Beyond 13