Smith of Wootton Major

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Smith of Wootton Major

Smith of Wootton Major

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La trama è semplice, e pur non essendo collegata in nessun modo alla Terra di Mezzo, riecheggia il leif motiv di molte opere dell'autore, soprattutto l'attacco dei Racconti ritrovati: nel paese di Wootton Major, immaginario ma indubbiamente anglosassone, ogni ventiquattro anni si tiene una festa a cui partecipano ventiquattro bravi bambini. Per l'occasione, il Maestro Cuoco serve una torta, ma in quella preparata da Nokes e dal suo apprendista Alf c'è una sorpresa: una pietra scintillante nascosta nella torta insieme ad altri ninnoli, che viene inconsapevolmente ingoiata dal figlio del Fabbro. La pietra si incastona nella fronte del bambino, e si rivela un vero e proprio lasciapassare (nonché protezione) per i reami di Faerie, che Fabbro esplora in lungo e in largo. Anyway, I'm keeping this one brief; they were entertaining charming tales. There was a bit of a moralistic tinge to them like traditional folktales but also that whimsical charm we all love. I can see the more general influence he inherited from the tradition of fantasy (folktales) and his influence on future authors like Le Guin or Gaiman. Illustrations were golden.

Fabbro, come dicevamo, rappresenta forse lo stesso Tolkien nell'atto di ritirarsi da Faerie, cioè dai reami della sua immaginazione, e di lasciare la sua pietra scintillante perché qualcun altro possa riceverla. On one such journey climbing into the Outer Mountains he came to “ a deep dale among them, and at its bottom lay a lake, calm and unruffled though a breeze stirred the woods that surrounded it”. In that dale “ the light was like a red sunset, but the light came up from the lake”. Then from nowhere a wild Wind rose to him, and “ it swept him up and h ung him on the shore, and it drove him up the slopes whirling and falling like a dead leaf”. Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past. Flieger opposes viewing Smith of Wootton Major as an allegory, instead seeking comparisons with Tolkien's other fantasies. [8] [12] She argues that the story had sufficient "bounce" that no allegorical explanation was necessary, and indeed that such explanation detracts from the story of travels in the land of "Faery" and the element of mystery. [12] She likens the "first Cook" to a whole series of "Tolkien's far-traveled characters", namely Alboin Errol, Edwin Lowdham, Frodo Baggins, Eärendil, Ælfwine-Eriol "and of course Tolkien himself—all the Elf-friends." [11] Scull, Christina; Hammond, Wayne G. (2006). The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. Vol."Chronology". HarperCollins. p.711. ISBN 978-0-618-39113-4.Smith "never bakes a Great Cake"; Tolkien "never produced a major full-length work on medieval literature" So this is a pretty fun little volume. Not related to Middle-Earth at all, but the fairies of the first tale have a kinship to Tolkien's elves and the dragon of the second is dragony like Smaug.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets. This is the fourth tale in Tales from the Perilous Realm, and this is the only other story I had not read prior. I have to say I’m not sure how I feel about it, but like the others, I’m sure I’d like it more a second time. Possession of the star also enables Smith to make journeys into Fairyland in a magically suspended time-warp that does not count as the ‘real’ time of the village. Only his family is aware of his absences, and even they do not know where he has wandered. In the perilous land that Tolkien called Faery, Smith sees events transpire to which he has no key, sees wonders unfold that he does not understand, and stumbles into dangers of which he is unaware. Trespassing on the dangerous Lake of Tears, he arouses the Wild Wind, but is sheltered from its wrath by a weeping birch. The tree warns him to go away, telling him outright that the Wind is hunting him and that he does not belong in the Faery land. I know, I know...how can someone do that? Like I have a clue, I was a freshman in high school - that on a whole is an unsolved mystery in itself.Smith of Wootton Major began as an attempt to explain the meaning of Faery by means of a story about a cook and his cake, and Tolkien originally thought to call it The Great Cake. [3] It was intended to be part of a preface by Tolkien to George MacDonald's fairy story The Golden Key. [3] Plot summary [ edit ] Because of the star upon his forehead Smith had access to the land of Faery. He went there when he could as a learner and explorer. Smith journeyed far and saw the Sea of Windless Storm, the King's Tree, the Outer and Inner Mountains, and the Vale of Evermorn where he was allowed to dance with the Elven maidens. One of the Elven maidens and the Queen of Faery called Smith " Starbrow" for the star they plainly saw upon his forehead. To me this was a great little tale, falling just short of me loving it. I think this is a cute, silly story that could so easily fall into the realm of other fairytale stories/the same popularity, if only it was more readily available. Although, it is again one of those older children’s stories where while I’m reading I’m like, “this was told to kids?!” So with that being said this could easily have been dulled down or “Disney-fied” or made even more adult in a longer version/adaptation.

The time came for another Feast of Good Children. Smith had possessed his gift for most of his life, and the time had come to pass it on to some other child. So he regretfully surrendered the star to Alf, and with it his adventures into Faery. Alf, who had become Master Cook long before, baked it into the festive cake once again for another child to find. After the feast, Alf retired and left the village; and Smith returned to his forge to teach his craft to his now-grown son. Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (9 September 2012). "Our Collections: Pauline Baynes". Too Many Books and Never Enough. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015 . Retrieved 25 July 2023. The village of Wootton Major was well known around the countryside for its annual festivals, which were particularly famous for their culinary delights. The biggest festival of all was the Feast of Good Children. This festival was celebrated only once every twenty-four years: twenty-four children of the village were invited to a party, and the highlight of the party was the Great Cake, a career milestone by which Master Cooks were judged. In the year the story begins, the Master Cook was Nokes, who had landed the position more or less by default; he delegated much of the creative work to his apprentice Alf. Nokes crowned his Great Cake with a little doll jokingly representing the Queen of Faery. Various trinkets were hidden in the cake for the children to find; one of these was a star the Cook discovered in the old spice box. Our Fairies Are Different: Discussed. Nokes has a typical modern view of fairies as fictional little sprites, which, this being Tolkien's verse, is far from the reality. However, the Faery Queen appreciates being remembered in some form. Two great novellas by Tolkien which, I'd hazard to say, most readers (and probably most fans of JRRT's) don't know exist, but which are both among his stronger works. Both stories would make great animated adaptations like the Rankin/Bass productions of "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King."In this story, the fay star has been baked into the cake by Nokes, the ignorant and insensitive Master Cook of the village of Wootton Major, who thinks the star is a mere trinket, and has no understanding of its power. He had returned sooner than was expected, but none too soon for those that awaited him. ‘Daddy!’ she cried. ‘Where have you been? Your star is shining bright!’” Long presents his own religious interpretation, likening the story's Faery Queen to the Virgin Mary, with the lilies "near the lawn" as her symbol; Alf as Christ; the Great Cake perhaps as a Twelfth-cake for Epiphany; Nokes as a fool or "a kind of anti-Tolkien"; Smith, a " lay Christian". [9]



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