Et Tu, Faramir? - Page 7
© Michael Martinez
For legitimacy, one must fall back upon the Quenya and Sindarin texts, which are insufficient to represent a "literature". Galadriel's lament does not tell a story. It relates no history. Rather, it implies much which has passed, and some things which may yet be. Like Bede's allusions to contemporary kings, Galadriel's lament really requires that the reader possess a considerable knowledge about Galadriel's life and history in order to understand what she is talking about. Otherwise, her song is just a pretty poem with a distinct sadness attached to it.
But though archaeology may one day prevail and give us insight into Bede's obscurities, we are left staring at Tolkien's world through his distant, half-closed eyes as he wanders across a mindscape of confused priorities. Our knowledge of Middle-earth's history and literature are as filtered as would be that of the students of Shakespeare, were his words the only source we had for traditions concerning Hamlet, Richard III, King John, Henry V, and Julius Caesar.
Shakespeare wrote about real people and imaginary people, and his most famous lines have been quoted time and time again. "Et tu, Brute" may be one of the most oft-quoted lines from Shakespeare, and some people say he may only have borrowed those words from tradition. If so, Tolkien (who disliked Shakespeare) appointed himself the task of playing Shakespeare to Middle-earth. He rewrote the stories which were never written, retold the untold tales, and invented traditions which he passed on to be cherished for generations.
The pretense Tolkien made, of lifting these stories from an older literature, was not really original. Some people claim Plato's account of Atlantis is nothing more than a fabrication, a pseudo-history he never took seriously. The Atlantis story has excited the imagination for over 2,000 years. And, in fact, it found a place in Middle-earth, for Tolkien admitted more than once that the tale of Numenor was derived from the story of Atlantis.
Even Faramir's dream, of the overpowering wave welling up in the ocean, owes something to a real experience. Tolkien himself confessed to having had the dream. Like every writer before him, and every writer since, Tolkien put something of himself into his creation. And, of course, Tolkien did borrow from ancient traditions to contrive his own imaginary traditions. From Beren's sacrificing a hand to the wolf, to Faramir's dream of the oncoming wave, Tolkien felt no compunction abouting making the real traditions of literature the sources for his lost literature.
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