tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post8854080072327145091..comments2024-03-27T19:07:19.133-04:00Comments on The Silver Key: Is The Lord of the Rings literature?Brian Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-27135147893980877472011-10-01T03:20:32.771-04:002011-10-01T03:20:32.771-04:00I knew you wouldn't like that term, Al! I agre...<i> I knew you wouldn't like that term, Al! I agree that is problematic, to say the least. Especially when something like a advertising pamphlet is often referred to as "literature."<br /><br />In the end I went with it because I frequently see it used to denote the quality of a particular written work. If you ask your average Joe to identify which book is a work of "literature," and you hand him a copy of Wuthering Heights and a copy of First Blood by David Morrell, he'll likely pick the former.</i><br /><br />I would still stick to that definition. It means I'd have to call "Twilight" literature, but I'm prepared to make that sacrifice. I'm just stubborn like that, I guess.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-67693975796857968362011-09-21T15:42:37.629-04:002011-09-21T15:42:37.629-04:00I knew you wouldn't like that term, Al! I agre...I knew you wouldn't like that term, Al! I agree that is problematic, to say the least. Especially when something like a advertising pamphlet is often referred to as "literature."<br /><br />In the end I went with it because I frequently see it used to denote the quality of a particular written work. If you ask your average Joe to identify which book is a work of "literature," and you hand him a copy of Wuthering Heights and a copy of First Blood by David Morrell, he'll likely pick the former.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-83966149819578853152011-09-20T16:04:15.053-04:002011-09-20T16:04:15.053-04:00What is literature? Yeah, best of luck with that.
...<i>What is literature? Yeah, best of luck with that.</i><br /><br />I've found it pretty darned easy, myself. If it's a written work, it's literature. Simple as that.<br /><br />The question should be "is LotR great/good/important literature," not whether it's literature at all, which is a non-issue to me. Asking "is LotR literature" is, to me, like asking "is <i>Conan the Barbarian</i> a film," or "is <i>C'est ne pas une pipe</i> a painting": of course they are!<br /><br />Pedantic it may be, but I find it better to make arguments more specific than not. Hence how I'll be happy to argue over whether LotR has literary merit, literary sophistication, or is "high literature," but not plain old literature itself.Taranaichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02176999342965850175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-54996231786804746242011-09-16T12:34:35.409-04:002011-09-16T12:34:35.409-04:00I just pretend such people don't exist! I don&...I just pretend such people don't exist! I don't care to know such people, anyhow.Ted Crosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09022309459554237650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-67232141826939797162011-09-16T08:25:28.449-04:002011-09-16T08:25:28.449-04:00Thanks for the comment, Ted. What encourages me ab...Thanks for the comment, Ted. What encourages me about the (slow, very slow) acceptance of The Lord of the Rings as literature is that it should help open the door for other deserving works of fantasy as well. "Respectable" critics seem to have a bee in their bonnet about fantasy and sci-fi in general.Brian Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05563309422791320114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723077228948447528.post-31649304391837895592011-09-16T02:24:49.319-04:002011-09-16T02:24:49.319-04:00People who say it isn't literature are too sho...People who say it isn't literature are too short-sighted. Any book that will still be read centuries later is literature. Many books now firmly considered literature were not considered such at the time they were published.Ted Crosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09022309459554237650noreply@blogger.com