Tolkien and the Faerie Tale: Cliché or Trope

The author John Ronald Reuel Tolkien‘s contributions to fantasy in literature have been subject to a variety of critical and academic discussions for decades, with conflicting opinions as to whether or not his writing deserved praise as an original approach to the fairy tale, as a genre suitable for adults and not children. In particular, Tolkien has been accused of dealing in cliché and a black-and-white morality, lacking subtle insight into human nature. His supporters cite the deeper aspects and intentions behind Tolkien‘s method of writing: The use of resonant mythological tropes within a unique internally-coherent world, the creation of a consistent mythology intertwined with languages, cultures and histories, and, contrary to the prevalent criticisms, a subtle understanding of the human capacity for evil. This thesis argues that Tolkien‘s major works (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) do not involve the crude use of cliché or the artless borrowing of mythological materials but rather that he exploits mythological tropes within an individual and distrinctive world of his own to explore deeper issues concerning human nature. This exploitation of universial themes within a unique internally-coherent creation is called by Tolkien the art of subcreation. Through his understanding of the manner in which language and discourse functions, Tolkien sought to both revive old ideas regarding the nature of the fairy tale, and to introduce new stories that adhered to that same nature – a goal which many would say he had accomplished, as the influence of his writing has created an entire new movement in the world of fantasy in modern literature