Monday, February 14, 2011

Mythopoeia

J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius.

I know, I know. It's not "cool" nowadays to be unequivocally enthusiastic in one's admiration for anyone or anything. But I can't help it. I am a total Tolkien fangirl and I unabashedly love everything he wrote. And I'm not just talking about his absolutely brilliant stories. Tolkien was, of course, a tremendous scholar not just of language but of literature.

Tolkien coined a few new terms related to storytelling. The term "sub-creation" refers to the creation of a secondary world with its own rules and laws. The term "eucatrastrophe" is, in Tolkien's words, "the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears" (from On Fairy Stories). Tolkien felt this mechanism was the "highest function" of fairy stories. I had read and been familiar with these two terms before. But I finally came upon a third yesterday.

Mythopoeia. Literally, myth-making.

Tolkien used the term to describe what he did, crafting a mythology that draws from and uses the essential elements and truths found in real world mythologies and legends. It is meant to illuminate those fundamentals of our real world mythologies by exploring them in a created setting, a secondary world. The word has now come to be used to describe the genre of writers who attempt this feat.

And I, who have been wandering lost and confused amidst the modern fantasy genre, repulsed by much that I see, and wondering if this modern fantasy is truly what I am writing and if it is truly what I want to write, have seen the light of day. The answer is no, I am not a modern fantasy writer. Tolkien described what I want to do. My goal is mythopoeic sub-creation. I am writing mythopoeia, not fantasy.

Thank you, Tolkien, for having just the right words.

I found and read Tolkien's poem called Mythopoeia and, as usual, was amazed by Tolkien's genius with words. Tolkien was apparently responding to C.S. Lewis who felt that myths were lies and therefore useless even though "breathed through silver". Tolkien's return argument is indisputably elegant and lovely. Here's an excerpt from the poem, which I found online here:

Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme
of things not found within recorded time.
It is not they that have forgot the Night,
or bid us flee to organized delight,
in lotus-isles of economic bliss
forswearing souls to gain a Circe-kiss
(and counterfeit at that, machine-produced,
bogus seduction of the twice-seduced).
Such isles they saw afar, and ones more fair,
and those that hear them yet may yet beware.
They have seen Death and ultimate defeat,
and yet they would not in despair retreat,
but oft to victory have tuned the lyre
and kindled hearts with legendary fire,
illuminating Now and dark Hath-been
with light of suns as yet by no man seen.

I would that I might with the minstrels sing
and stir the unseen with a throbbing string.
I would be with the mariners of the deep
that cut their slender planks on mountains steep
and voyage upon a vague and wandering quest,
for some have passed beyond the fabled West.
I would with the beleaguered fools be told,
that keep an inner fastness where their gold,
impure and scanty, yet they loyally bring
to mint in image blurred of distant king,
or in fantastic banners weave the sheen
heraldic emblems of a lord unseen.

"Blessed are the legend makers"! Yes, sign me up for that! I think there is something fundamentally missing from much modern fantasy and I think it's tied to the loss of the genre's roots as myth and fairy tale and legend. I'll talk more about that in another post, but for now I am heartened and enthusiastic about digging back into those roots myself. And perhaps one day being an influence for bringing the genre back to its vibrant traditions. I love myth and fairy tale and legend and I think most fantasy readers do as well. I think there is a thirst for more offerings that draw from that tradition and that take on the task of mythopoeic sub-creation. I don't know if I'm up to the challenge, but I'm going to do my best.

5 comments:

  1. My son is the ultimate Tolkien fan. I loved the Hobbit, and his genius is not lost on me. Just haven't read anything else he wrote...yet!

    Thanks so much for the follow. Looking forward to reading more from you!

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  2. I, too, am a Tolkien fan. When I wrote my Native American/Celtic myth, THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS, I used Tolkien's definition of the true fairy tale as my guide.

    I have been feeling as I am a throwback to lost times and lost wonder that seems missing in much of today's fantasies. Your post, indeed, your whole blog, makes me feel not quite so alone.

    Thanks, Roland

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  3. Nicole, I'm pretty sure it's a crime not to have read The Lord of the Rings... or maybe that's just in my fantasy world. Thanks for following back. :)

    Roland, the world need more true fairy tales! I'm pretty sure there is a desire out there for the Tolkien-esque mythopoeia (NOT the shallow Tolkien imitations) and people are just waiting for it to be met. There is hope for us as authors! Thanks for following me. :)

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  4. Oh goodness, I am a criminal. I've not only never read any of the LOTR series, I didn't even finish watching the movie series (although I do own the complete DVD set).

    But all of that aside, I want to welcome you to the A to Z April Challenge. I think you will find it to be a great opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals and watch your blog following grow. Hope you have fun and find it very rewarding. Be watching my blog and those of the other Challenge hosts (listed at the top of my page) for announcements about the Challenge and tips on how to make your approach to the Challenge work better.

    Happy Blogging!

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  5. This is beautiful! Glad to meet another Tolkien fangirl :D

    "Blessed are the legend makers". Oh, Tolkien. How you are missed...

    ~Jen

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