Dear Devon
You have a couple of problems going here. One is that you don’t seem to have made up your mind about the topic of your paper. Are you writing about similarities between Shakespeare’s and Tolkien’s work or are you writing about Tolkien’s use of traditional English (and other) fairy lore? For example, the tradition that Tolkien was disappointed that Shakespeare did not have Birnham Wood actually come to Dunsinane does not belong in a paper on Tolkien’s use of traditional fair lore, nor does the widespread story of the prophecy that that the hero can not be killed by any man. Pick one topic and stick with it! You need to start with a clear thesis statement and then develop your argument
You also need to cite a lot more sources and you need to make sure that you are using your own words and developing your own argument rather than paraphrasing those of other scholars. Lydia Fish November 30, 2008, at 02:49 PM
Shakespeare and Tolkien, how much greater can it get! I think you bring up wonderful insights to the fairies of Shakespeare and the elves of Tolkien. Tolkien, according to his essay On Fairy Tales, defintely talks about his beliefs of fairy tales. Good job so far! brittany thrun? November 13, 2008, at 05:31
Shakespear is a really good topic because you can find Shakespear qualities in any literary work. The points that make are great and you back them up well. You seem to write a great paper and it is very insightful. This must have been a very easy paper for you. Donald Turner November 13, 2008, at 05:29 PM
Our topics are very similar, but yours has a stronger focus on the elf aspect of Tolkien and Shakespeare. I think you should include information on how Shakespeare derived his elves from Celtic origins and Tolkien’s elves were more Germanic. Also, if you look closely Shakespeare never fully described the size of his fairies, others have interpreted them as small and diminutive. Eligh Hanning
You have a very interesting topic and paper. You have a very strong introduction and solid discussions. I am looking forward to reading your final draft. Steven Wilser? November 13, 2008, at 04:38 PM
I think that you’re off to a great start on your paper and that you bring up good points. In my research, I found information on comparisons between Shakespeare and LOTR and found it surprising that this exists, since Tolkien didn’t like Shakespeare. You should have a great final paper.Sarah Chudyk? November 13, 2008, at 10:08
The introduction is spot-on…really strong and attracting to a reader. Then you get into how Tolkien didn’t like Shakespeare; and that seals the deal: I want to know why…and as I read more, I get more hooked and continue to go. So very good job on that. I look forward to reading the finished product! Joseph Bella? November 13, 2008, at 12:11 AM
Your strong introductory paragraph sets the tone for the rest of your paper. I liked how you compared characters from the Lord of the Rings to Shakespeare’s characters. Your ideas on Shakespeare were well written and easily comprehended. Good job! Carly Lopez? November 12, 2008, at 11:37 PM
You have a very nice paper so far! Your introduction is great as everyone has already told you. The topic is very interesting because of the fact that Tolkien disliked Shakespeare and yet people can compare and contrast the different works of literature. I can’t wait to read the finished draft! Elizabeth Delano? November 12, 2008, at 07:14 PM
I think you have a great handle on the information that you have been using thus far. I will definitely enjoy the final copy of your paper as I have enjoyed this part of it a lot. I think that it is odd that Tolkien disliked Shakespeare because a lot of his work does reflect the poet’s. In class we have talked about Tolkien’s love of language. Maybe you could find similarities between Tolkien and Shakespeare’s language as well as plot similarities? Great job so far. Keilah Bradley November 12, 2008, at 04:57 PM
You have a great flow to your essay but you still need to work on your transition. You are doing a great job at expressing your ideas. What I mean by the transitions is that you should able to link each preivous paragraph that follows it.
There is alot of information to work with, and it looks like alot of your sources are really helping you out. Even though this is only a rough draft, I think you should really focus on transitions between your ideas. Such as the transition between Tolkien’s Shakespearean influence of the Ents and speaking of fairies in a Midsummer Night’s Dream is very sudden and makes it feel unrelated. You should also try to throw in some specifics about what you’ll talk about into your introduction. Ideas such as Comparing Titania to Galadriel, or how you plan on writing about Macbeth. Lauren Brych? November 11, 2008, at 02:27 PM
I enjoyed reading your introduction and the snippet concerning Tolkien’s childhood. Your section concerning Galadriel and Midsummer Night’s Dream is well written and informative. I think that once you have all your sources incorporated you have an awesome paper. Good job! Sarah McNutt
I think a couple of your sentences in your introduction could use more commas or be broken into shorter sentences. I really enjoyed your explanation of writing for an audience, and how Shakespeare and Tolkien were writing for two completely different ones, which obviously influenced their writing. By “themes” in paragraph three, I think you mean “elements,” or “aspects,” as you are speaking about Titania and the woods of Dunsinane. Also, I think you should include more quotes from the texts, such as some describing Titania and some of Galadriel to better support your comparisons and contrasts. Good job! Kelsey Till November 09, 2008, at 04:45 PM
I like your introduction. I think you told me that you hadn’t gotten all of your sources in from ILL until this past week, so I will just say that you need to italicize Shakepeare’s plays and any other long works. Emily Marvin? November 09, 2008, at 04:20 PM
You have a nice start on your paper. I agree with Kelsey that you sould use more quotations from both Shakespeare’s and Tolkien’s work. You might be able find more similarities in the language that is used. I look forward to reading your final paper! Annika Laughlin? November 11, 2008, at 08:58 PM
Correlations Between Tolkien and Shakespeare, and Tolkien’s Deviations From Early English Fairy Tales
Tolkien did have dislike for Shakespeare, but regardless there are elements in his work that almost directly mirror those found in some of Shakespeare’s plays. It is strange for this to have occurred, as when viewing the work of Tolkien as a whole, he has gone in a completely different direction from the traditional English fairy tale as well as any earlier portrayal of mythical creatures. Tolkien took it upon himself to give England a mythology all it’s own, but instead of gathering what already existed and bringing what he found together, Tolkien took what he found and gave it new life with a new dignity. Elves and fairy creatures were no longer diminutive little imps with flowers as hats and insects as steeds, but convincing characters with histories, cultures, and languages of their very own. Each creature came from a world all it’s own, given such detail that the reader must at some level question if it all truly existed at some time.
At some point, all lovers of J.R.R. Tolkien will hear of the contempt he held for William Shakespeare, a surprising statement from someone whose love for language and literature knew no bounds. Tolkien, though, felt rightly justified in his contempt, believing Shakespeare almost directly responsible for the “debasement” of the English concept of fairy folk, as seen in a written letter: “…I now deeply regret having used Elves, though this is a word in ancestry and original meaning suitable enough. But the disastrous debasement of this word, in which Shakespeare played an unforgivable part, has really overloaded it with regrettable tones, which are too much to overcome” (Tolkien 185). Shakespeare, who he “disliked cordially” (Tolkien 213), would ultimately make his way into the works of Tolkien no matter what his sentiments may have been.
Along with this story of dislike, there is also the tale of Tolkien being taken to see the live performance of Macbeth as a young boy. The story goes that at hearing that the woods of Dunsinane were indeed moving towards the castle, young Tolkien grew quite excited, only to find that it was a pack of men wearing branches and no real tree sprung to life. Here, many believe that a singular scene from Shakespeare gave inspiration to one that would be written years later: the Ents’ assault of Saruman’s tower at Isengard. This vision seems to be what Tolkien thought should have actually occurred. There are more themes that he tries to set to rights, one of which we can see in his portrayal of the figure of Galadriel. Comparing Galadriel to Shakespeare’s Titania, her surroundings, or expanding that view to common themes in English fairy tales, we not only see the similarities between the two, but also see fabulous examples of Tolkien’s deviations from the traditional portrayal of fairies.
But before comparisons can be made there are certain points that must be acknowledged. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most famous play by Shakespeare that features the fairy folk (it is important to note that the words ‘fairy’ and ‘elf’ in Shakespeare’s works are interchangeable). However, it is incredibly important to understand first that this play was written for comedic purposes, and is by no means meant to be taken seriously, unlike Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and other works. With that in mind, the portrayal of the fairy folk must be taken in consideration with the genre. Some critics find the contrast of the two unfair because of this essential difference, but looking at things from Tolkien’s perspective, it adds to the infamous “debasement” of the fairies. It even furthers the point to say that Shakespeare never uses fairies in his more serious works, giving more comedic value to the fairies when they did appear.
Not only is this a battle between comedy and fiction, but prose and drama. Shakespeare was writing for a live audience that needed to be kept entertained. If they had come to see a comedy, then surely using a fairy for mischief would keep them engaged. Tolkien, however, was writing in a world torn by war, one of which he had seen and fought in. People did not yearn for silly fairies bouncing around in flower caps; those were things of children’s stories. People needed to be given a dignified tale with believable characters faced with a conflict that they would ultimately overcome. The fantastical creatures Tolkien revived from old stories needed to be changed with the times, given worlds, histories, languages, and cultures of their own. Entertaining the reader became more arduous than keeping peasants entertained as the reader would be inspired instead of merely entertained.
But being a good medievalist, Tolkien was not about to completely disregard Shakespeare or the traditional elements brought into his plays. He would draw from the classics, but manipulate them to fit his own needs, reflecting them but at the same time deviating.
Galadriel is really the most refined elven character we the reader will encounter throughout the trilogy, and so is the perfect figure to represent the dignity Tolkien brought to the elves. Comparing her to Shakespeare’s Titania, we see through several comparisons just how dissimilar they truly are, starting with their entire purpose in their works. Titania is meant as a rather scandalous character, as she falls in love essentially with an ass. Galadriel is meant as a spiritual, awe-inspiring character, and a true leader. This is not only her people, but to the Fellowship who find themselves under her hospitality.
Their actions set them at odds as well. While Titania is attracted by lust to the mortal Bottom, Galadriel is a purely spiritual character to the Fellowship. The aforementioned lust for Bottom is mirrored by Galadriel’s want of great power from The Ring, but unlike Titania, she does not give in to her desires, but overcomes them. The entire ordeal for Galadriel is not even that long. Again, looking at lust, Titania’s desire compels to her trap Bottom in the wood with the fairies, while Galadriel and all the elves of Lothlorien are very reluctant to allow the Fellowship within their wood. All of these comparisons (Lakowski) immediately make Galadriel to be essentially what Tolkien thought Titania ought to have been: dignified, truly beautiful, and worthy of being a Fairy Queen.
This is not to say, though, that they are so dissimilar that they are not at all connected. The fashion in which the surrounding characters interact with the Fairy Queen brings the older English Fairytale elements into Tolkien’s work. Starting off, Shakespeare took other elements that were already accepted and incorporated them into the setting of the fairy’s kingdom. “In Sir Orfeo, Heurodis is sleeping under a tree when she is carried by the King of the Fairies” (Lakowski) and is just one of many examples of early stories involving forests and fairy encounters. And so, Shakespeare is himself perpetuating the cycle of borrowed themes while seeming original. (I need to do more research on just what traditional fairy themes are, and as I just received sources critical to this part, it must remain vague for now)
Stretching away from Titania, we find that there is another character very close to her who is something of a country bumpkin in Shakespeare’s wood: Puck. He is the classic character of the mischievous fairy, out to make trouble by using his powers for his own designs. It is more than likely this little creature that is out to bastardize the name of the fairy with all his mischief. (I plan to expand on this point, saying how Puck is essentially the vision of the classic English fairy, but as I’ve just received quite a few of my sources, I don’t have all of my information gathered)
Tolkien is already at incredible odds with the Bard when it comes to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but another play that has been mentioned earlier, Macbeth, he is incredibly indebted to. Not only does Tolkien rewrite the scene where the woods come to Dunsinane, making the trees Ents and their assault upon Isengard and Helm’s Deep, but he borrows several basic concepts as well. The first thought that he takes and reworks for the trilogy is the idea of a prophecy being issued and misconstrued by the figure whom it concerns. In Macbeth, the prophecy tells (I will cite the prophecy) that no man of woman born shall harm Macbeth, and so he is let into a false sense of security. Tolkien uses the Lord of the Nazgul to the same effect: someone fooled by words that are taken at face value. In fact, the prophecy is much to the same end: that no living man may hinder him. Both meet a sticky end at the hands of someone they least expected to fit the description. Macbeth dies at the hands of Macduff who was not born naturally, while the Lord of the Nazgul dies at the hands of both a hobbit and a woman, Merry and Eowyn. (Shippey 192). (I plan on expanding further on this section, making more direct quotes from the plays for a visual of how similar they are, much like Shippey does)
This next section regards so much of the material written by Katherine Briggs, but as I have just recently received her books (as so many of my critical sources came in all at once) I haven’t had the chance to properly address the information. I plan on expanding the basic ideas already spoken of, incorporating the ideas of traditional English fairy into what Shakespeare wrote to say how he himself was expanding on tradition. This will extend out to Tolkien himself, and then I will properly explain how he dignified the role of fairy creatures throughout the trilogy. Again, at the moment, my information has yet to be properly sorted through, but I will improve my rough draft as I get through that.
Here is the bibliography. Not really a works cited at the moment until I write the rest and incorporate more sources.
Correlations Between Tolkien and Shakespeare, and Tolkien’s Deviations From Early English Fairy Tales
Devon Cozad? November 05, 2008, at 08:54 PM
