Epic Pooh

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"Epic Pooh" is a 1978 essay by the British science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, which reviews the field of epic fantasy, with a particular focus on epic fantasy written for children. In it Moorcock critiques J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings for its politically conservative assumptions and its escapism. Originally written for the British Science Fiction Association, "Epic Pooh" was revised for inclusion in Moorcock's 1989 book Wizardry and Wild Romance . Critics and scholars have objected to multiple aspects of Moorcock's essay.

Contents

Essay

In his 1978 essay "Epic Pooh", the science fiction writer Michael Moorcock criticises a group of celebrated writers of epic fantasy for children, including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Richard Adams. His criticism is based on two principal grounds: what he sees as the poverty of their writing style, and their politics. Moorcock accuses these authors of espousing a form of "corrupted Romance", which he identifies with Anglican Toryism. The defining traits of this attitude are an anti-technological, anti-urban stance which Moorcock sees as ultimately misanthropic, that glorifies a vanishing or vanished rural idyll, and is rooted in middle-class or bourgeois attitudes towards progress and political change. The title arises from Moorcock's argument that the writing of Tolkien, Lewis, Adams and others has a similar purpose to the Winnie-the-Pooh writings of A. A. Milne, another author of whom he disapproves: it is according to Moorcock fiction intended to comfort rather than challenge. Fantasy writers whom Moorcock cites approvingly in the essay, by contrast, include Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. Le Guin and Alan Garner. [1]

Revisions

A 2008 revision to the piece adds mention of authors Pratchett and J. K. Rowling and drops those whose names would be less familiar today. In an author's note, Moorcock also identifies Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials as deserving credit. As an example of the revision, from the original "... are successful. It is the tone of Warwick Deeping's Sorrell and Son , of John Steinbeck at his worst, or, in a more sophisticated form..." [2] and from the revised version "... are successful. It is the tone of many forgotten British and American bestsellers, well-remembered children's books, like The Wind in the Willows , you often hear it in regional fiction addressed to a local audience, or, in a more sophisticated form..." [3]

Analysis

The essay has been criticised by multiple authors from different backgrounds. "Epic Pooh" and Edmund Wilson's essay "Oo, Those Awful Orcs" have been called "infamous negative criticisms" of Tolkien. [4] Ishay Landa calls "Epic Pooh" a "prototypical critique" of Tolkien's supposedly "'complacent' escapism", in which Moorcock views Tolkien as "essentially a conservative, soothing container of social tensions." [5] Richard Forest notes Moorcock's "famously dim view of Tolkien's moral and aesthetic vision". [6] Thomas Ingram states that "Epic Pooh" is "unfair to Tolkien at many points", but that Tolkien's ideas of race were indeed "noxious". [7] The Tolkien scholar David Bratman writes that "one wonders what book Moorcock read, because it’s certainly not The Lord of the Rings." [8] He suggests that Moorcock never read the book, explaining why the fragments Moorcock quotes are "entirely out of context". [8]

Madawc Williams, in Mallorn , comments that "Moorcock has simply sneered at Tolkien without knowing what he is talking about," describing the essay as "a shallow work; the ramblings of a light-weight thinker with a fairly average knowledge of literature." [9] Williams notes that Moorcock attempts to treat fantasy as distinct from folktale, legend, or myth, but comments that all four of these are tightly interrelated. Williams notes that The Lord of the Rings embodies many influences, from the Welsh language to the First World War, so attempts to categorise it may easily fail. Moorcock's idea that fairy tales say nothing serious, and ignore death, is simply wrong, writes Williams. As for The Lord of the Rings, it may resemble a fairy tale in that it has a happy ending in Sauron's downfall, but it has a sad one in the departure of the Elves, he notes. The protagonist Frodo is incurable; the hero Aragorn wins his kingdom and marries the Elf-lady Arwen, but that tale too "ends in death and tragic parting." [9] In short, Williams writes, Tolkien's writing is informed by the real world and personal experience of war, and is far broader in its reach than Moorcock's own writing. [9]

Legacy

The science fiction author China Miéville has in Eric Sandberg's view taken on Moorcock's "critique of Tolkien's conservative politics". Sandberg notes that Moorcock called The Lord of the Rings "a pernicious confirmation of the values of a declining nation with a morally bankrupt class whose cowardly self-protection is primarily responsible for the problems England answered with the ruthless logic of Thatcherism," while Miéville mentions Tolkien's "small-minded and reactionary love for hierarchical status-quos" and "belief in absolute morality that blurs moral and political complexity". [10]

Related Research Articles

High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. High fantasy is usually set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world. This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set on Earth, the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Moorcock</span> English writer, editor, critic (born 1939)

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worked as an editor and is also a successful musician. He is best known for his novels about the character Elric of Melniboné, which were a seminal influence on the field of fantasy in the 1960s and 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mythopoeic Awards</span> Literary award

The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award is given for "fiction in the spirit of the Inklings", and the Scholarship Award for non-fiction work. The award is a statuette of a seated lion, with a plaque on the base. It has drawn resemblance to, and is often called, the "Aslan".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantasy literature</span> Literature set in an imaginary universe

Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy literature may be directed at both children and adults.

The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after his death, and his constructed languages, especially the Elvish languages Quenya and Sindarin. Scholars from different disciplines have examined the linguistic and literary origins of Middle-earth, and have explored many aspects of his writings from Christianity to feminism and race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of fantasy</span>

Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning. The modern fantasy genre is distinguished from tales and folklore which contain fantastic elements, first by the acknowledged fictitious nature of the work, and second by the naming of an author. Authors like George MacDonald (1824–1905) created the first explicitly fantastic works.

<i>Tolkien Studies</i> Academic journal

Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is an academic journal founded in 2004 publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The journal's founding editors are Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D. C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger, and the current editors are Michael D. C. Drout, Verlyn Flieger, and David Bratman. It states that it is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press in the area of Tolkien research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early history of fantasy</span>

Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning, though the idea of a distinct genre, in the modern sense, is less than two centuries old.

J. R. R. Tolkien's bestselling fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings had an initial mixed literary reception. Despite some enthusiastic early reviews from supporters such as W. H. Auden, Iris Murdoch, and C. S. Lewis, literary hostility to Tolkien quickly became acute and continued until the start of the 21st century. From 1982, Tolkien scholars such as Tom Shippey and Verlyn Flieger began to roll back the hostility, defending Tolkien, rebutting the critics' attacks and analysing what they saw as good qualities in Tolkien's writing.

<i>A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien</i> 2014 scholarly book edited by Stuart D. Lee

A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien is a 2014 book edited by Stuart D. Lee and published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is a part of the Blackwell Companions to Literature series, which have been described as prestigious reference works, and features authors well-known in the field of Tolkien studies.

Women in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> Role of women in Tolkiens fantasy

The roles of women in The Lord of the Rings have often been assessed as insignificant, or important only in relation to male characters in a story about men for boys. Meanwhile, other commentators have noted the empowerment of the three major women characters, Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen, and provided in-depth analysis of their roles within the narrative of The Lord of the Rings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen GoodKnight</span> American educator (1941–2010)

Glen GoodKnight (1941–2010) was the founder of the Mythopoeic Society and the editor of its journal, Mythlore between 1970 and 1998; in that time the publication grew from being a fan magazine to a peer-reviewed academic journal. He was an expert on and collector of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and his fellow Inklings, C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams.

Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy is a book by Michael Moorcock published in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Lobdell</span> American historian

Jared Charles Lobdell was an American author and one of the first Tolkien scholars. He is best known for some thirty academic books on American history and the Inklings including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard C. West</span> American librarian and Tolkien scholar (1944–2020)

Richard Carroll West was an American librarian and one of the first Tolkien scholars. He is best known for his 1975 essay on the interlace structure of The Lord of the Rings, for which he won the 1976 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inkling Studies.

The prose style of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, especially The Lord of the Rings, is remarkably varied. Commentators have noted that Tolkien selected linguistic registers to suit different peoples, such as simple and modern for Hobbits and more archaic for Dwarves, Elves, and the Rohirrim. This allowed him to use the Hobbits to mediate between the modern reader and the heroic and archaic realm of fantasy. The Orcs, too, are depicted in different voices: the Orc-leader Grishnákh speaks in bullying tones, while the minor functionary Gorbag uses grumbling modern speech.

The presence of sexuality in The Lord of the Rings, a bestselling fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, has been debated, as it is somewhat unobtrusive. However, love and marriage appear in the form of the warm relationship between the hobbits Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton; the unreturned feelings of Éowyn for Aragorn, followed by her falling in love with Faramir, and marrying him; and Aragorn's love for Arwen, described in an appendix rather than in the main text, as "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Multiple scholars have noted the symbolism of the monstrous female spider Shelob. Interest has been concentrated, too, on the officer-batman-inspired same-sex relationship of Frodo and his gardener Sam as they travel together on the dangerous quest to destroy the Ring. Scholars and commentators have interpreted the relationship in different ways, from close but not necessarily homosexual to plainly homoerotic, or as an idealised heroic friendship.

J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the bestselling fantasy The Lord of the Rings, was largely rejected by the literary establishment during his lifetime, but has since been accepted into the literary canon, if not as a modernist then certainly as a modern writer responding to his times. He fought in the First World War, and saw the rural England that he loved built over and industrialised. His Middle-earth fantasy writings, consisting largely of a legendarium which was not published until after his death, embodied his realism about the century's traumatic events, and his Christian hope.

J. R. R. Tolkien derived the characters, stories, places, and languages of Middle-earth from many sources, including numerous modern works of fiction. These include adventure stories from Tolkien's childhood, such as books by John Buchan and H. Rider Haggard, especially the 1887 She: A History of Adventure. Tolkien stated that he used the fight with werewolves in Samuel Rutherford Crockett's 1899 historical fantasy The Black Douglas for his battle with wargs.

<i>A Question of Time</i> (book) Book of Tolkien scholarship

A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie is a 1997 book of literary analysis by Verlyn Flieger of J. R. R. Tolkien's explorations of the nature of time in his Middle-earth writings, interpreted in the light of J. W. Dunne's 1927 theory of time, and Dunne's view that dreams gave access to all dimensions of time. Tolkien read Dunne's book carefully and annotated his copy with his views of the theory. A Question of Time examines in particular Tolkien's two unfinished time-travel novels, The Lost Road and The Notion Club Papers, and the time-travel aspects of The Lord of the Rings. These encompass Frodo's dreams and the land of the Elves, Lothlórien.

References

  1. ↑ Moorcock, Michael (2008). "Epic Pooh". In Bloom, Harold (ed.). Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretation: JRR Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings'. Facts on File. pp. 3–18. ISBN   978-1-4381-1399-9.. Originally published in Moorcock, Michael (1987). "Epic Pooh". Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy. Victor Gollancz. pp. 121–139.
  2. ↑ Moorcock, Michael (1987). "5. Epic Pooh". Wizardry and Wild Romance: A study of epic fantasy. Victor Gollancz. p. 181. ISBN   0-575-04324-5.
  3. ↑ Michael Moorcock. "RevolutionSF – Epic Pooh". RevolutionSF. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Martsch, Nancy (October 2023). "How to Misunderstand Tolkien: The Critics and the Fantasy Master by Bruno Bacelli". Mythlore . 42 (1). article 23.
  5. ↑ Landa, Ishay (2002). "Slaves of the Ring: Tolkien's Political Unconscious" (PDF). Historical Materialism. 10 (4): 114.
  6. ↑ Forest, Richard W. (2011). "[Review:] The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games Michael J. Tresca". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts . 22 (3 (83)): 412–417. JSTOR   24353009.
  7. ↑ Ingram, Thomas M. (31 December 2012). "Grooming Wagner's Neckbeard". Strange Horizons.
  8. 1 2 Bratman, David (October 2022). "Notes of an Inklings Scholar: Musings on Myth and History, Promises and Secrecy, Ethical Reviewing, and the Limits of Authorial Intent". Mythlore . 41 (1). article 2.
  9. 1 2 3 Williams, Madawc (1989). "Cock and Bull About Epic Fantasy". Mallorn (26): 5–14.
  10. ↑ Sandberg, Eric (July 2023). "China Miéville: Radical SF, Nostalgic Utopianism, and the Politics of the Past". CEA Critic. 85 (2): 174–186. doi:10.1353/cea.2023.a901811.
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