I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.
Note that LOTR was 100% informed by his experiences in WWI and he sought to impart readers with many of the same feelings. He’s just saying it’s not a 1:1 comparison. For example, World War One had no ents. He just put those in because they’re neat. LOTR isn’t a direct retelling of the great war, but it is supposed to make you think about what war does to people, and perhaps that will make you think about the great war.
I’ve been doing a bit of writing, and I feel this…
I want to write comparable experiences, but it can also come across as a heavy-handed author message if people feel too strongly that a certain place or character or event is a strong allegory for a real-life thing.
It’s more likely those fictional events were informed by those real events the author experienced, and it remains in fiction for people to reflect on.
Why’s Tolkien so grumpy in this? I thought he was quiet funny in real life.
He was, but…
Note that LOTR was 100% informed by his experiences in WWI and he sought to impart readers with many of the same feelings. He’s just saying it’s not a 1:1 comparison. For example, World War One had no ents. He just put those in because they’re neat. LOTR isn’t a direct retelling of the great war, but it is supposed to make you think about what war does to people, and perhaps that will make you think about the great war.
He also claimed the war didn’t leave him with any bad memories, but he’s got a whole marsh where dead people pull other people into the bog to drown.
Weirdly totally not about the Somme according to Tolkien.
I’ve been doing a bit of writing, and I feel this…
I want to write comparable experiences, but it can also come across as a heavy-handed author message if people feel too strongly that a certain place or character or event is a strong allegory for a real-life thing.
It’s more likely those fictional events were informed by those real events the author experienced, and it remains in fiction for people to reflect on.
*has literal trees smashing industry*