4/19/2023- Poetics and Reality

 Why do Lewis and Tolkien, two respectable academics in their own rights, spend so much time in their stories developing the complex cultures (and in the case of Tolkien, even a full language) of their fantasy stories? Why should we care for the various types of humor offered by each of the species “the jokes of all three were equally incomprehensible to him. He thought he could see differences in kind- as that the sorns seldom got beyond irony, while the hrossa were extravagant and fantastic, and the pfifltriggi were sharp and excelled in abuse…” or for the random poetic breaks in the journey of the fellowship of the Ring:

“"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

So much time and effort was placed in the creation and fleshing-out of a world that is not real. Or at least, not real in the sense that it cannot be touched, seen, or smelled. However, it can be felt. And that is exactly why the extensive ethnographies of fantasy worlds is important. Lewis and Tolkien immerse their reader into a situation so fantastical and yet, because of the richness of the description given to the culture, language, and customs of that world and its peoples, it becomes believable.

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