Master of Middle-Earth
Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, alternatively subtitled The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien, is a 1972 book of literary criticism of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings, written by Paul H. Kocher, and one of the few to be published in Tolkien's lifetime. It focuses especially on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and also covers some of his minor works such as "Leaf by Niggle" and "Smith of Wootton Major".
At a time when scholars were largely critical of Tolkien and his prose style, it both praised his writing and, in the absence of either The Silmarillion or Christopher Tolkien's The History of Middle-earth on the process of creation of Tolkien's fiction, it correctly inferred many of his major themes. It was one of the earliest book-length analyses of Tolkien's work, winning Kocher the 1973 Mythopoeic Society's Scholarship in Inkling Studies Award.
Context
The early literary reception of The Lord of the Rings was divided between enthusiastic support by figures such as W. H. Auden and C. S. Lewis, and outright rejection by critics such as Edmund Wilson.[6]
Paul H. Kocher was a scholar of English literature.[7] The book was published before The Silmarillion appeared to confirm several of Kocher's inferences about the mythical history of Middle-earth.[8]
Book
Publication history
The book was first published in hardback by
- —— published in Britain as Master of Middle-Earth: The Achievement of J. R. R. Tolkien. London: Thames and Hudson, 1973.
- —— reprinted several times, such as in New York: Pimlico, 2002.
Translations include:
- —— French by Jean Markale as Le royaume de la terre du milieu: Les clés de l'oeuvre de J.R.R. Tolkien. Paris: Retz, 1981.
- —— Italian, Il maestro della Terra di Mezzo, Rome: Bompiani, 2011.
- —— Swedish by Åke Ohlmarks, Tolkiens sagovärld: En vägledning. Stockholm: AWE/Geber, 1989; and Stockholm: Geber, 1973.
- —— Dutch by Max Schuchart, Tolkien: Meester van midden-aarde: Zijn romans en verhalen. The Hague: Bert Bakker, 1973.
- —— Polish by Radosław Kot as Mistrz Śródziemia. Warsaw: Amber, 1998.
Synopsis
The book has seven chapters, a "Bibliographical Note" on Tolkien's publications, academic notes, and a full index. The chapters cover:
1. "Middle-earth: An Imaginary World" – how Tolkien blends fantasy and reality to create his world. Kocher quotes Tolkien's statement about creating secondary worlds, that they have to command a kind of belief, and while they may contain dwarfs, trolls, and dragons, these have to be set in a world with realistic features of sea and sky and earth. He notes that Middle-earth is "our earth as it was long ago".
2. "The Hobbit" – on the quality of Tolkien's children's book. Kocher suggests that the key is to think of Tolkien sitting by the fireside telling the story to a group of children: in the text, he addresses the reader directly. "Jocular interjections" help to maintain "a playful intimacy", while the text "is full of sound effects". All the same, the intended readership is vague, as some passages, like Bard's claim to Smaug's treasure, are more for adults. He notes, too, the change in the "true story" of how Bilbo got the One Ring in the 1966 prologue to The Lord of the Rings, helping to smooth the transition between the two novels.
3. "Cosmic Order" – on the
4. "
5. "The Free Peoples" – on how Tolkien portrays different peoples, cultures, and languages by varying his prose. Kocher argues that far from using stereotyped characters or merely telling an adventure story, Tolkien explores both the individuals and the nature of their races, including Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Men, and Ents. In his view, "Tolkien's real mastery ... consists in his power to establish for each individual race a personality that is unmistakably its own."
6. "
7. "Seven Leaves" – on seven of Tolkien's minor works: "
Impact
Reception
Perceptions of Kocher's work have changed with the publication of The Silmarillion and of The History of Middle-earth, which appeared after the contemporary reviews were written.[11]
Contemporary
The scholar of English literature, Glenn Edward Sadler, reviewing the book in Christianity Today in 1973, wrote that Kocher had provided a "survey narrative", both scholarly and readable, of Tolkien's blend of reality and fantasy. The book ably described Tolkien's "theory of artistic creation (secondary world building), major philosophical and religious ideas, and moral imperatives", and evaluated his construction of myth.[12]
Veronica Kennedy, in her 1973 review for Extrapolation, praised Kocher's boldness in attempting to cover the whole of Tolkien's Middle-earth oeuvre, but thought that the origins of The Lord of the Rings in medieval "epics and romances" like The Faerie Queene and Sir Gawain should have been explored in more depth, as well as the influence of Tolkien's contemporaries like C. S. Lewis.[13]
Nicholas Tucker, writing in New Society in 1973, criticised the book, calling it "yet another undistinguished addition" to the body of literature on Tolkien. Tucker further wrote that "Nor is Master of Middle-Earth the type of book one could recommend 'for enthusiasts only'. I can't imagine many readers of Tolkien's mysterious, numinous story would want this sort of chattering commentary, ever-eager to analyse character, hand out good conduct marks for heroism, and really dig, say, the difference between a dwarf and an elf."[14]
Nancy-Lou Patterson, in Mythlore in 1975, welcomed the book, stating that "Kocher's Master of Middle-earth is just the sort of study of Tolkien's ability as a master 'sub-creator' which his admirers have often felt ought to be written and which many of them will probably wish they had had the good sense to write themselves. ... The result is a thorough, brilliant, and warmly sympathetic exploration of the several 'other worlds' of which Tolkien has become the master."[15]
Later
Charles W. Nelson, in
The scholar of religion Paul Nolan Hyde wrote in
The Tolkien scholar Richard C. West wrote in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia that Kocher had written "the finest book from this [early] period ... [it] looks closely and deeply at the whole body of Tolkien's work to that time. Its insights have held up well for decades."[6]
The evolutionary psychiatrist and Tolkien critic Bruce Charlton wrote that the book was the "first really good piece of book length critical work" on Tolkien, noting that it came out just before Tolkien's death. It thus embodied "a lost perspective", absent all Tolkien's posthumously-published writings, including the 12-volume The History of Middle-earth which appeared in the following decades. In Charlton's view, the book therefore has permanent value. He notes that Kocher flags up or discusses in detail nearly all the key points about Tolkien, making educated inferences that were later confirmed by Christopher Tolkien's lengthy research among his father's papers.[11]
Carol Leibiger, writing in
Analysis
The
Awards
In 1973 Kocher won the Mythopoeic Society's Scholarship in Inkling Studies Award for Master of Middle-Earth.[21]
See also
Published in Tolkien's lifetime
- Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings"(1969), an early non-scholarly book on Tolkien's writing
Published soon after Tolkien's death
- A Tolkien Compass (1975), an early collection of scholarly essays on Tolkien's writing
- The Road to Middle-earth(1982), an early book of Tolkien scholarship
References
- ^ Townshend, Emma (6 August 2014). "Tolkien's black pine: Why do we love old trees?". The Independent.
- ^ a b Chance 2003, Introduction.
- ^ Shippey 2005, pp. 104, 190–197, 217.
- Letters#131 to Milton Waldman, late 1951
- ^ Carpenter 1977, pp. 111, 200, 266 and throughout.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.
- ^ "Paul H. Kocher". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Lilley, Ernest (11 November 2003). "Reprint! Reprint! Two More Tolkien Books…". SFRevu (November 2003). Retrieved 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Master of Middle-earth : the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien". WorldCat. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ "kw:Kocher AND ti:Master of Middle-earth". WorldCat. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ a b Charlton, Bruce (18 October 2013). "Review of Paul Kocher's Master of Middle Earth". Notion Club Papers. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ^ Sadler, Glenn Edward (8 June 1973). "Masters of the Faerie Romance". Christianity Today. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- ISSN 0014-5483.
- ISSN 0028-6729.)
Nor is Master of Middle-Earth the type of book one could recommend 'for enthusiasts only'. I can't imagine many readers of Tolkien's mysterious, numinous story would want this sort of chattering commentary, ever-eager to analyse character, hand out good conduct marks for heroism, and really dig, say, the difference between a dwarf and an elf. [...] Tolkien himself denies any interpretations, but then story-tellers often do. He has also, of course, good reason to dislike and discourage most of the linked industry that has grown up around his books to which, I fear, Paul Kocher's book is yet another undistinguished addition.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - JSTOR 26808315.
- JSTOR 43308193.
- ISBN 978-1-4299-7473-8.
- ^ Hyde, Paul Nolan (2002). "The Moral Mythmaker: The Creative Theology of J. R. R. Tolkien". Religious Educator. 3 (3): 151–166.
- JSTOR 43310254.
- ^ Treloar, John L. (1988). "Tolkien and Christian Concepts of Evil: Apocalypse and Privation". Mythlore. 15 (2). Article 7.
- ^ "Mythopoeic Scholarship Award: Inklings Studies". Mythopoeic Society. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-04-928037-3.
- ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.
- OCLC 53706034.
- ISBN 978-0261102750.
Further reading
- from the original on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
External links
- Master of Middle-Earth title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database