Browsing the Compleat Middle-Earth Library - Page 9

See my comments above.

Although J.R.R. Tolkien attempted to write romantic prose fiction in epic form from circa 1916 to 1925, he abandoned the project. Instead, he turned to writing epic poetry, reusing two of the themes from The Book of Lost Tales. "Lay of the Children of Hurin" and "Lay of Leithian (Release from Bondage)" combine elements from several of the Book of Lost Tales stories, but Tolkien introduced radical changes in characterization, plot, and progression. The core "Silmarillion" mythology begins with these two lays, although when he composed the earliest versions there was no comprehensive vision for the mythology. "Lay of Leithian" is, in my opinion, the better composition and represents some of the most beautiful epic poetry ever written in the English language. It is a masterpiece which deserves far better reocgnition than the academic community has extended to it. I think future generations will enjoy it more than people have since this book was first published.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s J.R.R. Tolkien came to write down the first "Silmarillion" mythologies. Although very similar to the mythology of The Book of Lost Tales, these mythologies departed from the "mythology for England" concept. Tolkien began inventing an imaginary historical time and place in northwestern Europe where Elves and Men struggled against a powerful evil being. The Shaping of Middle-earth documents how Tolkien continued to rely upon certain traditional elements from classical mythologies (such as the flat world, the existence of multiple gods, and the deeds of superhuman heroes). But it also reveals how he continued to refine and reinvent his "Silmarillion" mythology. And the sophistication of Tolkien's narrative structure and style improve visibly from text to text.

This book introduces the last of Tolkien's pre-Lord of the Rings efforts to create a "Silmarillion" mythology. He almost succeeded. "The Quenta Silmarillion" is very close in form and style to the published book, but there are notable exceptions and differences. In some places, the texts are identical because Christopher was forced to go back to the 1937 material to complete the published book. Linguists who were tantalized by the early languages which appeared in The Book of Lost Tales finally received a gold mine of information in "The Lhammas", an essay about the historical evolution of the Elven languages, and "The Etymologies", a dictionary-like resource Tolkien compiled in the late 1930s. "The Etymologies" shows how Tolkien developed two early Elven languages, Qenya and Noldorin, which he used as the basis for Quenya and Sindarin (respectively). Some other dialects and proto-Elvish are also documented. There are differences between the languages of "The Etymologies" and The Lord of the Rings, so a one-to-one correlation is not possible. But "The Etymologies" has proven to be invaluable to the linguistic community. And many of the entries reveal fascinating glimpses into Elvish society, culture, and history.