Today is J.R.R. Tolkien’s 117th birthday. Since the theme here has been fairy tales lately, here are a couple of Tolkien quotes that get to the heart of it.
On Myth:
“History often resembles myth, because they are both ultimately of the same stuff.” ~ “On Fairy-Stories”
On Eucatastrophe:
Endings of this sort suit fairy-stories, because such tales have a greater sense and grasp of the endlessness of the World of Story than most modern “realistic” stories…. In its fairy-tale-or other world setting, it is a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur. It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief. ~ “On Fairy-Stories”
Samwise Gamgee on being in stories:
What a tale we have been in, Mr. Frodo, haven’t we? I wish I could hear it told! Do you think they’ll say: Now comes the story of the Nine-Fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom? And then everyone will hush, like we did, when in Rivendell they told us the tale of Beren One-Hand and the Great Jewel. I wish I could hear it! And I wonder how it will go on after our part. ~ Samwise Gamgee, The Return of the King
In between the strict rationalism of the scientific fatalist and the elusive, esoteric musings of gnostic spiritualism, and as a necessary alternative to both, is “Myth.” Clyde S. Kilby writes,
We intellectualize in order to know, but paradoxically, intellectualization tends to destroy its object. The harder we grasp at the thing, the more its reality moves away.
So what is to be done? Man finds himself a third characteristic called imagination, by which he can transcend statements and systems. By some magic, imagination is able to disengage our habitual discursive and system-making and send us on a journey toward gestures, pictures, images, rhythms, metaphor, symbol, and at the peak of all, myth….
Myth is necessary because reality is so much larger than rationality. Not that myth is irrational, but that it easily accommodates the rational while rising above it. (Forward to Christian Mythmakers)
Note the place of imagination in discovering and comprehending truth. [click to continue…]
by Travis
As I announced yesterday, The Hog’s Head is giving away three free audiobooks in the form of Brilliance Audio’s “The Myths Collection.”
- Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth: What are myths? How have they evolved? And why do we still so desperately need them? Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Karen Armstrong’s characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense – and why we dismiss it only at our peril.
- Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad: In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story of Penelope and Odysseus, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged Maids, asking: “What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?” In Atwood’s dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing.
- Jeannette Winterston, Weight: In ancient Greek mythology, the victorious Olympians force Atlas, guardian of the Garden of Hesperides and its golden apples of life, to bear the weight of the earth and the heavens for eternity. With her typical wit and verve, Jeanette Winterson brings Atlas into the twenty-first century. Simultaneously, she asks her own difficult questions about the nature of choice and coercion, and how we forge our own destiny.
How to Enter Your Name for the Giveaway
It’s very, very simple this time. I’m looking for feedback for this site, particularly on subjects that we haven’t covered or haven’t covered sufficiently. You need to leave a comment on this post with one specific idea for a topic to be covered in the future here at The Hog’s Head. “Specific” is the key:
- Bad Example: “Mythology” – way too broad
- Good Example: “Comparing Harry with Beowulf” – much more specific; and it’s even better if you write something like, “Comparing Harry with Beowulf: compare and contrast their identities as ‘Christian’ heroes”
- Bad Example: “More Character Studies” or even “Delores Umbridge”
- Good Example: “The Psychology of Delores Umbridge: why does she take so much pleasure in inflicting pain?” (suggested recently)
You can only enter your name once, so come up with a good idea. If it’s too general, I’ll ask you to submit again. You have until midnight, EST on Friday, July 11, at which time comments will close. I’ll have some random person at Portus draw from the hat.
by Travis
There are three different matters of mythology I’ve been meaning to write about, and as long as there’s three, I’ll put ‘em all in this myth-mania post.
Myth Matter #1: Journey to the Sea has been launched!
Randy Hoyt, a Hog’s Head patron, whose voice you heard on the last PubCast, has launched an online journal of mythology, and issue #1 was posted today:
- Myth: A Defintion — Journey to the Sea is a new online magazine devoted to the study of myth. The English word myth has many connotations, and Randy describes what we mean by myth throughout this site. Full article »
- God and Man: Two Western Themes — Many Western traditions teach that mankind is separate from the divine. They typically reflect one of two contrary themes concerning man’s proper response to the divine. Full article »
- Magic in the World of Alvin Maker: Seventh Son (by Laura Gibbs) — Laura begins her series on the “ecology of magic” that storytellers create for their imagined worlds, looking first at the alternate America imagined by Orson Scott Card in his Alvin Maker series.Full article »
Randy explains more about the journal here. I intend to comment on the first two in the near future. (Since I haven’t read Card’s Alvin Maker stories, I don’t want to read anything about them, as I intend to eventually get to them).
Myth Matter #2: MythCon 39
Randy and I both belong to The Mythopoeic Society (he is their webmaster). The Mythopoeic Society is having its 39th conference this summer at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT August 15-18. The theme is “The Valkyrie and the Goddess: The Warrior Woman in Fantasy.”
Sadly, I’ll not be able to attend (family trip to NYC that weekend), but it looks like an excellent, fascinating, and affordable conference (less than half the price of Harry Potter conferences, anyway!). Featured guests are Marjorie Burns, who is a Tolkien scholar, and Sharan Newman, a medieval historian and author.
Myth Matter #3: The July Hog’s Head Giveaway!
The giveaway for July, with details to follow on how to enter, is a collection of three unabridged audiobooks of mythology:
- Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth: What are myths? How have they evolved? And why do we still so desperately need them? Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Karen Armstrong’s characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense – and why we dismiss it only at our peril.
- Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad: In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story of Penelope and Odysseus, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged Maids, asking: “What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?” In Atwood’s dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing.
- Jeannette Winterston, Weight: In ancient Greek mythology, the victorious Olympians force Atlas, guardian of the Garden of Hesperides and its golden apples of life, to bear the weight of the earth and the heavens for eternity. With her typical wit and verve, Jeanette Winterson brings Atlas into the twenty-first century. Simultaneously, she asks her own difficult questions about the nature of choice and coercion, and how we forge our own destiny.
Brilliance Audio’s “The Myths Collection, 1″ could be yours for free by entering the next giveaway contest. Details on how to enter will follow in the next day or two, and I’ll play a few clips from Armstrong’s book during this week’s podcast. Winner will be announced during next week’s podcast. You’ll have plenty of time to enter.
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