Já zásadně odborné knihy nehodnotím, ale kdybych hvězdičkovala nebo bodovala, tak si Netvoři a kritikové zaslouží vysoké hodnocení. Přednášky profesora Tolkiena o Beowulfovi a Gawainovi mi vyloženě bodly. :)

Nuggets sprinkled throughout, but it is not for the faint of heart. Culturally bound in some spots, obscure in others. On Fairy Stories and the essay on Sir Gawain were my favorites, but beyond that, it was tough going.

An excellent collection of essays by Tolkien; I had read "The Monsters and the Critics" before many times, and I believe "On Translating Beowulf" once or twice, but the rest were previously unknown. "English and Welsh" shows wonderfully Tolkien's wit and heart, and his strong feelings against bigotry of all sorts. "A Secret Vice" was especially odd, being about what is now called the "conlang" community. Anyway, the wit, humor, and clever insights of these essays are not to be missed!

I started this book early this year perhaps even February.

After reading about Beowulf I put it down. I picked it up again and again when I needed a quick entertainment. I finished the last essay on a sleepy day in September at my desk in the office.

I admit to skimming the Valedictory Address. I appreciate that abusing postgraduates is a time honored tradition; sending them like "mice" to fetch "morsels" to finish half baked ideas plucked from professors' bags of curiosities.

A collection thoroughly worth the attention of any Tolkienist, expert or novice.

The philology essays were of great interest to me, embarking as I am on my first real attempt to learn a new language (German). You get the sense that for JRRT, Anglo-Saxon and other Northern European languages were never best described as objects of academic study, but of delight; of, first and foremost, the indulgence of strong, particular tastes, the drudgery of his profession being an unhappy compromise.

Nevertheless, for me, “On Fairy Stories” remains the most compelling of this volume, though now having read the title essay, I see the two are inextricable.

Insight moving from the hilarious to the sublime:

”In describing a fairy-story which they think adults might possibly read for their own entertainment, reviewers frequently indulge in such waggeries as: ‘this book is for children ages six to sixty.’ But I have never yet seen the puff of a new motor-model that began thus: ‘this toy will amuse infants from seventeen to seventy’; though that to my mind would be much more appropriate.”

“The Evangelium has not abrogated legends, it has hallowed them; especially the ‘happy ending.’ The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed. So great is the bounty with which he has been treated that he may now, perhaps, fairly dare to guess that in Fantasy he may actually assist in the effoliation and multiple enrichment of creation.”

Best if read one essay in a sitting or two, put it down for a few days before moving on to the next. Before this book I read Tolkien's letters and his voice, his personality rings through these essays as strongly as it does in his non-academic correspondence.

I'm left with the feeling that if I had a time machine and a limited number of trips, one would not be wasted in going to listen to one of his lectures.

Read 'English and Welsh' only.

Remember, Tolkien was also an academic. Middle Earth was firmly rooted in decades of research into Philology and Mythology. This book is a collection of essays from Tolkien’s more academic side. Pretty boring overall, but some parts were quite interesting; he makes a strong argument for why we should take folktales and fairy stories more seriously, and not just mine them for historical insight.

This is a collection of seven essays/lectures by Tolkien, and it's fascinating to read first hand his thoughts about such topics as Beowulf and fairy tales. But he does go on a bit, and it gets seriously hard going when he gets into heavier areas like linguistics and old English.

Ya sabéis que Tolkien me gusta mucho y que con sus ensayos aprendo también bastante. Además, como están enfocados con las cosas que estudio en mi carrera la verdad es que es una lectura muy enriquecedora (si vierais la de post-it que pongo y lo subrayado que está...).

Voy a hablaros un poquito de cada ensayo, siete en total en este ejemplar, porque son variados:

"Beowulf: los monstruos y los críticos" (1) y "Sobre la traducción de Beowulf" (2): como podéis deducir, trata la obra de Beowulf, las críticas que ha tenido, cómo se estudiaba en ma actualidad de Tolkien y cómo abordar una burna traducción. Sí, me ha dejado con muchas ganas de leer la obra en sí.

"Sir Gawain y el Caballero Verde" (3): uno de los integrantes de la mesa artúrica. De este ensayo mr gustó mucho el tema de los principios caballerescos, el ser educado y el honor, ¿cuál se debe priorizar en una situación comprometida?

"Sobre los cuentos de hadas" (4): ya leí este ensayo en otra obra de Tolkien ("Cuentos desde el reino peligroso") y me gustó mucho. Sobre todo el tema de Cuentos infantiles vs Cuentos de hadas y cómo se entremezclan (y que los cuentos no son para niños sólo).

"El inglés y el galés" (5): aquí me di cuenta de que mis estudios me ayudaban mucho para entender el ensayo en profundidad, por ciertos tecnicismos.

"Un vicio secreto" (6): la creación de idiomas. Aquí también aprendes mucho biográficamente sobre Tolkien. Muy interesante.

"Discurso de despedida a la Universidad de Oxford" (7): son el toque irónico característico del autor, aborda uno de sus temas académicos (lengua = lenguaje = literatura) y la verdad es que tiene mucho sentido una vez que lees el ensayo.

Lo he disfrutado mucho :).

This book will be on my reading list when I convince the English department to let me teach a Tolkien elective :) It contains a nice range of topics and provides a fascinating insight into Tolkien’s academic mind. Definitely challenging and not for the casual reader, but if you have an interest and have set out to learn more about The Professor himself, this collection of essays is well worth the read.