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The Making Of A Myth, Part 1

Tolkien is specific. Fairy stories are certain things and definitely not others. First they are stories about Faerie, “the realm or state in which fairies have their being,” though this realm contains much more than elves or fairies · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 2

Fairy stories are for children. Or are they? J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy Stories” built an argument that challenged the usual assumptions. First, he believed that fairy stories had significance beyond entertainment. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 3

In many ways Tolkien separated himself from Christian parents today because he stated bluntly that children aren’t to be protected from reality though they can and should retain the guileless wonder of childhood: Children are meant to grow up, and not to become Peter Pans. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 4

Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 5 – The Use Of Primary Colors

I wonder what J. R. R. Tolkien would think about Harry Potter. Or Twilight. Or dystopian fantasies like Veronica Roth’s Divergent. Would the author of “On Fairy-Stories” be a fan of the darker forms fantasy has taken in the last decade or so? · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 6 — Tolkien On Romance

Would J. R. R. Tolkien, if he were alive today, be a fan of prairie romance? The question is appropriate because of what he wrote in his essay “On Fairy-Stories” regarding escapism. · Rebecca LuElla Miller

The Making Of A Myth, Part 7 – Tolkien And The Gospel

Few people, even those not well-versed in fantasy, will argue against the idea that J. R. R. Tolkien is the master of the fantasy genre. In that he wrote his thoughts about this type of tale in his essay “On […] · Rebecca LuElla Miller