The Downfall of the Lore of the Rings - Page 4
© Michael Martinez
Who are the Elves, and who is Samwise, that his opinion of them should matter to someone as important as Frodo? There is great applicability in the question. In college I had a couple of friends who were almost always involved in my various nefarious activities. I used to ask one of them, "Well, Samwise, what do you think of the Elves now?" whenever things looked darkest for us. After about two years of that, Daryl couldn't stand it any more and asked me where I got the question from. He had read Tolkien in high school, but didn't really appreciate the book.
Not that my friend is (or was) a shallow critic. He's very good at reading people. He just wasn't into Tolkien the way I was (or am). But I think there is something poignant and worthwhile in Frodo's asking Sam about the Elves. Sam's responses aren't as important as the questions. Frodo is interested in learning something about Sam. He doesn't really care whether Sam likes or dislikes the Elves. And Sam, for his part, understands that his personal feelings aren't important to the Elves. "They seem a bit above my likes and dislikes, so to speak," he says.
That's the way critics are. They are a bit above my likes and dislikes. They have their own concerns and griefs to redress. Their personal vendettas against Tolkien or the previous generation of Tolkien critics don't really mean anything to me. Nor do my delvings into Tolkien's pseudo-history really mean anything to them. I'm just a hobbit from the Shire looking for some fun. I'm more of a Took than a Samwise in that respect.
I guess that makes me a black sheep among a generation of Tolkien researchers who have been looking for vindication of their favorite author. I might be able to help vindicate Tolkien in the literary world, but then, I never took that Shakespeare class. I can't really revile the Bard with quite the authority of a Tolkien. Hence, I can't compare Tolkien to Shakespeare or delve into his Anglo-Saxon roots the way Tom Shippey does.
And just as Shippey seems to lay everything Tolkien at the feet of the Anglo-Saxons, I'm afraid I'd lay everything at the feet of the Greeks. Tolkien seemed to have a great appreciation for the Greeks. I get the impression he didn't think much of the Romans. But Greek literature had an impact on him. Tolkien noted in one of his letters that "Greek mythology depends far more on the marvellous aesthetic of its language and so of its nomenclature of persons and places and less on its content than people realize". This was the point he used to illustrate his realization that "'legends' depend on the language to which they belong."
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