smith of wootton major & farmer giles of ham

This manifests itself practically in the ability to travel to Faërie, which serves as a fictional metaphor to represent the use of the imagination in life to look beyond the physical to see the flashes of Truth and Beauty in the fringes and patterns of Creation, often glimpsed through fanciful tales and wondrous stories. The whole town of Wootton Major, in fact, seems to think the imagination is merely a childish device, and they live their mechanistic lives perfunctorily and in a manner they deem suitably mature.Īgainst this unimaginative backdrop, Alf guides a fairy-star into the cake of a young boy called Smith, who, having ingested the Star (a symbol of the fantastic imagination), develops a newfound sensibility to Beauty. The short story reflects this frustration: when Nokes dismisses fairies as silly children's stories, Alf (who is in fact the Fairy King) grows frustrated, and his sadness at the children's similar perceptions is apparent. He argues, conversely, precisely the opposite: fairy-stories are by no means childish, and there is a beauty and a danger that lies in the realm of Faërie (a loose term created by Tolkien to describe the otherworldliness that lies in the heart of Secondary Creation - that is, the most purely manifested result of Art). In the aforementioned essay, Tolkien complains that 'fairy-tales' are considered childish fancies and nothing more, toys to be discarded and left behind in the process of maturity. The primary theme of 'Smith of Wootton Major' is the intersection of Imagination and Truth. For essential background reading, check out his essay ' On Fairy-Stories ' it plainly describes many of the elements incorporated into this fairy-tale, more eloquently and concisely than a short analysis passage ever could.

Regardless, this short story, despite being so often overlooked in Tolkien's body of work, is masterful, and the ideas he expresses within are integral to his overarching philosophy of narrative. There is a disappointing lack of scholarship regarding ' Smith of Wootton Major' in the context of Tolkien's philosophy, but perhaps that is for the best Tolkien himself detested allegory, and much of the fragile wonder and mystery found in this tale could easily be lost in the mechanistic process of hyper-analysis. Written by people who wish to remain anonymous We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Smith of wootton major & farmer giles of ham