Another selection of words, indicating thoughts about other words.
Intro
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall & Edmund Weiner - The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary
So we swing from fiction to faction, with an interesting look at Tolkien and the OED. I can finally give a shout-out to my homies in OUP (except not too loud, because it's late, and I don't want to embarrass anyone).
This book was written by some people from Lucy's office (the copy is signed by them!), which made me wary that this might be a bit too intellectual for me. Everyone on the OED seems to speak a thousand languages, and have a thousand diplomas written in ink made of hope, on an assortment of enchanted parchments (or enchartments as they're known).
I said at the outset of my bookshelf crusade that non-fiction books were optional, but I decided to give this a go. (It's not a long book - that was my main consideration.)
Luckily my fears of being out of my mental depth were allayed quickly. The book is highly readable and full of interesting stuff.
(I'm straying into Inept Book Review territory here, for which I apologise)
It looks at Tolkien's involvement in the OED, his interest in philology (being aroused by books), and the impact of these on his own writing.
I was starting from a bit of a handicap, as A) I don't know anything about philology, and B) I don't have any real interest in Tolkien.
But there was still lots of good stuff, and loads of great new words that I'm sure I'll forget immediately, such as Watling Street (used in Middle English to refer to the Milky Way), glede (a burning ember), and Beowulf possibly meaning 'foe of the bee' (ie. a bear). I think that CGI Beowulf film would have been better if he was fighting bees like Winnie the Pooh.
Other things what I did done liked:
1) Tolkien created words based on posited etymology, and an deep understanding of language, but also chose particular word because the sound of them conjured up particular feelings.
So the sound of the word 'hobbit' for example brings to mind words like rabbit which create the desired impression.
I'm interested in the sound of words, and the reasons we use particular words. As I'm also interested in comedy, I like to think about why particular words are chosen for jokes (I've written about it before).
I think there are (sometimes unconscious) impulses to choose certain words not for their meaning, but for their sound. Some words and phrases sound like a climactic flourish, a drum roll, or a single conclusive final note. Some sound purposefully sharp, and some are softer and seem to dissipate in the air. I should give examples here, but I think this idea might require a blog post of its own.
2) I also liked Tolkien viewing the creative process as acting as a conduit for pre-existing ideas, rather than them being forged by the artist. He saw writing as 'not inventing but reporting'. That must be what it's like to come up with something so perfect, you can't believe it hasn't been done before.
I think that when Paul McCartney wrote Yesterday, he was sure it was an old song, as it seemed so familiar.
You see that idea a lot with artists: existing as a funnel to channel inspiration into physical form. I like it as an idea, but I'm not sure I'd be happy with it myself. I wouldn't want to abdicate the responsibility; I'd want all the credit!
3) Tolkien says part of the reason for creating the tree-giant Ents was annoyance at Macbeth and the Witches' prophecy of shit getting serious when Great Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane hill (I'm paraphrasing).
In the end the wood does move, but only as camouflage carried on people.
I remember thinking that was a bit of a cop-out when I read Macbeth at school. I wanted real moving trees, and so did Tolkien!
So, there it is. If you're a Tolkien fan, I'd recommend checking it out.
As I said, I'm not really a huge fan. I loved the Hobbit as a child. ('Child' - is that right? 'Kid' sounds too casual, 'Lad' sounds to colloquial, 'Boy' sounds too patronising, and you wouldn't want to patronise yourself now, would you dear?)
But I found the Lord of the Rings books a bit too much to get into.
I think my problem, and this is a common (though not universal) problem with fantasy writing, is that everything seems a bit dry.
It's very sophisticated and beautiful and intricate, like a ship in a bottle; well crafted, sweeping, elegant. But most of the time I don't want to be impressed by the construction of my art, I want to be kicked in the balls.
Tolkien never punches me in the heart, and so I can never commit to him.
The weird thing is, I like massive fictional worlds. I love the Marvel Comics universe, for example. But Marvel is full of failure and dirt and brash idiots and humour and people getting thrown through windows and stuff. That's what I want.
Oh, and I want characters that seem like people, instead if cyphers for particular worldviews.
But I totally get why loads of people get so obsessed with Tolkien's writing. It's great to get completely immersed in a complex world.
In the future, that's how this blog will be seen. A grand chronology will emerge, every aspect of my language will be studied, and nerds will debate every aspect furiously.
And I might become some sort of elf: graceful, refined, wise and thoroughly beautiful.
Of course, I might not.
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