One of Tolkien's most stunning innovations seems to be his ability to create fairy in a manner which retains its alignment with christian theology while incorporating an understanding of the real mythos in the great works of English Heritage. It seems that for Tolkien Language exists as a form of a roadmap to an understanding of that which is holy. Language itself therefore becomes a format of subcreation. On this blog a post raises the question of whether “worship” in Tolkien's framework is evil due to the fact that the word is only used in negative contexts throughout the books. While the post continues in an analysis of Tolkien's concept of “following” which in some way demonstrates an alternative to “worship”. Furthermore this piece examines how true and noble reverence is illustrative of the key role of free will in subcreation. Thinking about this problem led me to think about Tolkien's naming of his gods and the power of language and names throughout Tolkien relative to the problem of what worship constitutes. In his project, Tolkien acts as a reverent sub-creator in naming and following preexistent lists of names that once within them held a story. Furthermore, in attempting to reconcile this problem with Tolkien's understanding of the reality of his stories which he insisted existed not only within the world as he created them but within the words which he drew from. Language is a consistently fluxing phenomenon and Tolkien understood it as such, however it also seems that for his universe, words possess a latent power and might themselves be considered worship.
We might start with the fact that Tolkien's philology is by nature not secular, and it might be helpful to, in lacking an understanding of a field which has essentially died in the modern godless present by comparing it with new ideas regarding Language. Philology has been replaced by more critical methods of the analysis of language. In particular the emergence of a completely atheological understanding of the interconnectedness of words seems to have hints of Tolkien's understanding of subcreation, insofar as that linguistic relationships seems to very clearly be illustrative of the idea that names and words themselves contained multitudes and might only be understood by the way the weave together with others in a web of intricacies. Essentially this idea would fully legitimize the understanding presented by Tolkien that within words there are worlds which are both grounded and their own. However, to Tolkien the subcreation of these worlds themselves would be an act of divinity. Rather than a corruption and a twisting as is illustrated by the acts of Melkor, it instead acts as something holy and transcended. As such, the names themselves as presented in the Valquenta, have power and this is where Tolkien very clearly bifurcates from the more modern presentations of linguistic analysis insofar as he seemingly finds that certain points within language contain a divine richness. Even in the reverence with which names are dealt with in the stories convey this. The summoning of ages past and the communication of relationships are not the only thing that words hold for Tolkien, but these microcosms that modern theories mainly seek to analyze are present within Tolkien “mr. frodo” is the easiest example. Furthermore Tolkien does much better as shows us a world contained in words, and his fascination with the naming of gods and that ephemeral sensation. Rather than attempting to logically and rationally explain such a phenomenon Tolkien attaches it to the material world through the divine.
The practice of saying names and the presence of songs is an essential component of not only Tolkien’s storytelling method, but also the manner in which the plot unfolds. The beauty of Sam's song stands tall in the tower of art, and also communicates what Tolkien's vision of worship might actually be. The liturgy here becomes useful. In essence the reason that the liturgy is such an important element of Christianity is that it is what retains and fuels the presence and faith of god. The action of reading and of song, are holy within this framing. The liturgy and act of language also intersect with Tolkien's project of the sub-creation of a mythology for England. The main manner in which christianity existed and persisted within the creation of England was through the continual recitation of the psalms and this core practice of Christianity. Language contains holiness and it is in this framework that we can better understand what Tolkien sees as worship. The practice of subcreation through language exists in a striking parallel with the ideals of the bringing of Glory to God displayed within the early English mythos. Absent the images of a dying and martyred Christ, Anglo-Saxon iconography shows a noble Christ on the throne in glory and power adorned by the beauty of God's creations. In such a manner, Tolkien's worship is the practice of the power within those words, the act of song was a spiritual experience, and maybe the earliest one possible, the act of sub creation is that in echoing of the creative processes of beauty from their roots, unlike the theft of the lights, words function as paths and echoes of gods glory, and the worlds we make from that are as real as the transcendent nature of godliness itself. For Tolkien, speech itself becomes mighty words that have magic. How do we make stories and songs real? By telling them, guided by the path and practice of linguistic beauty.
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