Now that we are more than halfway through the semester, you all should have a more and more evolving grasp of the concepts behind Tolkien's mythmaking-- that concept of mythopoeia that he used in his fiction and for which his work was a pioneer and has become so well-know.
So, what methods does Tolkien use to build his fiction through the concept of mythmaking?
What are the basic components of mythmaking in fiction?
What does it add to his works that is missing in others?
How has your understanding of mythmaking changed or evolved so far?
Feel free to answer any or all of the above!
8 comments:
I would have to say that in taking your class that my understanding of myth making has vastly increased with an abundance of precious knowledge that I didn't have before taking your class. I have always been interested in mythology and was familiar with the Greek and Norse sides but I have learned so much more about other various cultural mythology that I was pleasantly surprised. The more I learn about various mythologies, the better I am able to understand just how important they are for each culture that it comes from. I would have to say that in understanding mythology better then its becomes easier to create your own secondary world and fantasy settings as well. I believe that when writing fiction, that any extra knowledge of primary world subjects will make you much more fascinating to the reading audience. Tolkien did that brilliantly with his vast knowledge of languages and incorporating that knowledge with his mythology studies he was able to create a world that was so much more believable. Tolkien was able to breathe life into his words and made the most epic literary work of all time.
I won’t try to fully answer any of the questions, but I think that one important aspect of mythmaking Tolkien uses that makes his works interesting is the way the Ainulindalë sets the stage for the later adventures. First of all, it creates an interesting history behind the shape of the world, from the continents to every hill and valley, where the primordial tumults of the Valar and Melkor took place. Nothing was exactly as it should have been in the beginning, but the earth did become a habitable home for the Children of Illúvatar. Second, it provides for the unpredictability of the various gods, goddesses, and other spirits seen in other myths while reconciling it with the omnipotent Illúvatar. This makes it compatible with Tolkien’s Catholic faith, while not fully removing the unpredictability of other myths, which allows for more interesting adventures. It is made clear that even though Illúvatar Is supreme, that does not mean evil cannot ever triumph for a time in the earth. Third, it introduces the Imperishable Flame and with it the idea of free will. Even the least significant people have the capacity to achieve great things, and as the Ainur added new things to the Music from their individual thought, so anyone can accomplish things that are not necessarily prescribed from the start. These ideas are extremely important because they define how stories can play out in the rest of Tolkien’s legendarium, and they provide fascinating opportunities.
~Ulmo
I feel that I learned from this class is that mythmaking is all about creating a world for characters and races to live in. The sub-creation is key to developing myths. Just like how creating enjoyable and interesting characters is important for a novel, creating an interesting world is important for a myth. We have seen in this class that Tolkien has worked hard on Middle-earth and Varda over his life. He kept refining the world we know and love today and gives life to the myth he wanted to create. Although characters in his stories are developed well, for example Aragorn, Bilbo, Frodo, and others, the characters thrive because of the world they are a part of. Tolkien enhances his world with in depth races and languages. All the components he adds to his legendarium grow his world and help solidify his myth.
When we began the class, I had absolutely no idea what the term "mythmaking" meant. When you Google "mythmaking," you don't even receive a definition. I felt completely lost and was terrified for what the semester had in store. Truly, I didn't even know what a myth was or how Tolkien, out of all people, was a mythmaker. Now, I can tell you all about the many methods that Tolkien uses in his mythmaking. I have learned so much about the ways Tolkien develops his fiction throughout the semester. Some I am more interested in than others, such as how he incorporates nature and creates complex histories for his characters. Others are harder for me to understand, such as how he uses the hero's journey and develops intricate languages. Most importantly, though, I have learned that we all have the ability to be mythmakers of our own and to create secondary-worlds through fantasy and other mythmaking methods, and that is what Tolkien would have wanted.
-Melian
I feel as though I had a pretty solid understanding of what mythmaking meant coming into this class so I will address the question of how it contributes to Tolkien's work in ways unique to him and to his development of Middle-earth.
For one, I think Tolkien goes above and beyond any of the fantasy authors of his generation (sorry, C.S. Lewis) in terms of world-building and mythmaking. While most authors will come up with a map for the world of their creation, few will give such detail and character to every single point on that map and few will create maps that come with their own history. Tolkien is also unique in that he invented his own philosophy to accompany his books. This may have been accidental on his part, but his definitions of good and evil don't quite line up with any pre-established philosophies nor do they correlate directly with Christian theology. Tolkien's works are therefore philosophically distinct from any other scripture, which I think adds quite significantly to the depth of his mythmaking.
-Varda*
Part of my motivation to take this class was because I'm interested in creative writing. I thought it would be beneficial to learn how mythmaking was important in creating such an iconic book series. Sure enough, I've learned so much. The thought and detail that went into every little thing Tolkien used just blows my mind. It's made me think about my own writing differently. I want to write with purpose, and maybe my favorite aspect is the significance of the seemingly insignificant. It's very relevant to my life and my own writing. Not only that, but before this class, my idea of myth was limited to Greek mythology and the show Mythbusters. Anyways, the point is, I've learned a lot about story-telling through mythmaking.
I think one of the most unique aspects of Tolkien's mythmaking is his realism. He doesn't create characters that are born with superpowers and thus are expected to do brave and heroic acts. Bilbo, Frodo, Boromir, and Aragorn are all good examples of "ordinary" creatures (as their culture would deem them) who simply chose to do extraordinary things. I feel like the characters of many fictional stories are not as relatable, remarkable, or memorable as Tolkien's, because they are not relatable to us as imperfect beings. We enjoy reading about Tolkien's imperfect characters because their victory could be our victory.
As we have discussed in class many times before, Tolkien utilizes language, a history/mythology via spoken and written tales, music, poetry, visual art, geography, the stars, and human nature to create his mythology. I think a better question would be "What doesn't Tolkien use to build his fiction/mythology?"
I would have to say that I thought and still believe that the basic components of mythmaking include a series of stories that a culture adopts as history, often a religion or belief system, music, poetry, visual art, and general culture--often including language.
Tolkien however doesn't want his myth to be as fantastic and extraordinary as Greek myth or Norse myth-which sounds really weird but is totally true. Where it seems to me like other cultures and myths really sought to seem immortal, Tolkien strives to make the immortal mortal. He wants his readers to feel like it is the same world and like they can be a part of it, like the endings are plausible and realistic (with intended and unintended happy and rather depressing consequences). More so than other myths, Tolkien's really does feel like a history. He cross referenced himself and perfected his work in ways that were previously unthinkable for me. Especially when you consider that myths typically come from long lines of people and are passed on from generation to generation to become a part of one's identity. Tolkien had to do all of that in his head, to make it seem like it withstands time in just his lifetime. I am still in awe about his accomplishment.
I would have to say that I now expect so much more than I ever did from myth. I expect history, culture, a hint of reality, relate-ability, beauty in the arts, etc. While many myths do this, I still feel like none could really ever compare to Tolkien's work. He made my standards get too high.
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