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atalante_star
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Post Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 12:42
I've just been reading an old interview with Tolkien, from before he was "famous". It contains the paragraphs below, basically stating that books should be enjoyed, not analysed ....

Interviewer: He finds it surprising and pleasing that the "Lord of the Rings" has had such a success. It seems to him that nowadays almost any kind of fiction is mishandled, through not being sufficiently enjoyed. He thinks that there is now a tendency both to believe and teach in schools and colleges that "enjoyment" is an illiterate reaction; that if you are a serious reader, you should take the construction to pieces; find and analyse sources, dissect it into symbols, and debase it into allegory. Any idea of actually reading the book for fun is lost.

Tolkien: "It seems to me comparable to a man who having eaten anything, from a salad to a complete and well-planned dinner, uses an emetic, and sends the results for chemical analysis."


What a fab quote!

What do you think? What's most important - enjoyment or analysis - which might lead to you understanding the book more? Is there a happy medium, and can we go too far with our analyses?

[Edited on 23/11/2003 by atalante_star]
rhînolwen
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 02:12
Personally, I think a major part of enjoying a book, especially the Lord of the Rings, is being able to analyze the many themes and complex meanings woven into the story. Having a greater understanding of what you are reading allows you to enjoy it in a much more wholesome way; and a book that allows you to do this is definitely a book worth reading. Needless to say, Tolkien is a master of such things.
iLikeLOTRaLittle2much
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 04:40
I enjoy certain aspects of both. Mostly, I will enjoy analyzing the story if I first enjoy the story. For a lot of the books that we read in school, for instance, the teacher will assign so much analyzation and disecting concerning just about every element imaginable! And, while I understand that this helps us, it makes it very diffiicult to just enjoy the plot or the characters ot the theme in itself because we're too busy worrying about getting the assignments required of us finished for class. I am not opposed to analyzing, and I enjoy getting into the deepr intents of the story and characters, but I think that enjoyment of the simple story as a whole should come first. This makes the analying and such more fun and helps me, for one, be more willing to do it.
Figwit
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 10:21
I agree with rhînolwen: the most enjoyable thing of LOTR is not the reading itself, but the understanding - seeing the links, the themes develop; reading it like you would read mythology...
Nienna-of-the-Valar
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 11:29
To me personally, the most enjoyable thing about reading these books is the story itself...BUT I also enjoy the analyzing and finding of deeper meanings in what was written. I can also appreciate that many people enjoy only the story and don't wish to analyze the book at all. So I would put the overall story first and the analyzing second.

I also think that we can go too far with our analyzing and miss the fun in just reading a great book. I like to think that I have found a happy medium between the two, but then again wouldn't we all? LOL.
atalante_star
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 23, 2003 11:32
I think that enjoyment of the simple story as a whole should come first. This makes the analying and such more fun and helps me, for one, be more willing to do it.


I agree. And I think it's slightly odd that Tolkien was against people delving deeper into books, but maybe that interview was written before he'd got so deep into his mythology. Especially with the Silmarillion, I would have thought he would want people to dig deep, and explore, in the same manner as exploring a "real" history or mythology.

But I think the enjoyment must come first. Only if you enjoy a book will you truly enjoy digging deeper. As other people have said, just remember English classes at school - some of those were torture...... I'll never read Graham Greene again
Neneithel
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 24, 2003 01:47
My view is that the way schools tear books apart is bad, the way people analyse them properly is not. In our discussions here, we never treat Tolkien with disrespect. At least during my school days, writers were treated almost as a product of their work. Somebody had come up with a view about the book and if the writer didn't conform to it, he was considered to be wrong. I even read a few years ago about the experience of a writer who was contacted by a student. He was pleased with her grasp of his writing and agreed to discuss it with her. She later used some of what he told her in her work and was informed that she was wrong. She appealed to him, he wrote to the teacher explaining that he had himself told her those things and he was told that he didn't understand the book either. At that point, analysis becomes meaningless.

I had one excellent teacher who made analysis of Shakespeare both fun and educational. Significantly, he was a writer himself. He never attempted to change Shakespeare into the person he wished him to be and he didn't try to politicise everything he read.

The worst teacher on earth would be an extremist of any kind. In my day, feminists were the problem. Being taught by a couple left me with a deep dislike of feminism. They warped everything to match their own politics. I'm sure they meant well, but it's an insult to an author to use them merely as ammunition in some war of thoughts.

Another problem with the way literature is treated in schools is that dissenting voices are sometimes discouraged. I still remember being asked what made Dickens a great author and I had to say, in all honesty, that I thought he was a terrible writer, literate, but not creative and relying on silly names to cover his lack of characterisation. I was not popular!

But the kind of analysis we do here, for love of the books and knowing that only one person knew all the answers, that's great and I don't think Tolkien would mind it at all.

Neneithel


[Edited on 24/11/2003 by Neneithel]
eldir
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 24, 2003 02:20
For me, reading is to lose myself. It is to disappear completely into a different world than the one I am in now. If I begin to analyse things and look for allegorical occurences, the book loses its fun. There are some books that are so heavily allegorical that you can't ignore it, and they're to be treated differently.
And with so many books, the analysis is debatable. What one person will find, another will not.

In terms of Tolkien, I never particularly analysed LotR. It was so brilliantly written that I didn't want to. And also, Tolkien himself denied allegory (I admit I do think there is some in it, though) so I took him at his word and didn't read too much into it.

And yes, some teachers these days I think have small problems. Mine didn't warp things politically. They just-well-warped things. I often wonder what all these poor authors would think of the kind of analysis that goes on. I think some of them would be utterly dismayed.
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: November 24, 2003 02:49
eldir i agree with you, for me reading a story is just that - reading a story, a work of fiction and in my mind most authors did not deliberately write thier book to tie in with any current political theories.

it drives me mad when anyone takes a single idea and fits it into everything they read,... from LotR for instance feminists could pull out of it a bunch of comparisons to the way women were treated and how it mimics the society of the 1950's or the role of women in life or some such stuff. people who are very into gay rights can pull out the homoerotic sections of tolkiens work. you can probably find some comparisons to famous tyrants and dictators in there, or find parralells between tolkiens works and the world wars... at the end of the day most works of fiction really are works of fiction, of course theres going to be some politics and relgion in them and some reflections on the authors experiences but when you come right down to it its a work of fiction a story. analysing things too deeply and you end up missing the magic of it.

i like scratching under the surface looking at the characters emotions and behaviour etc, but i dont like it when the analysis goes really off track and into politics etc.
atalante_star
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: December 25, 2003 10:39
"As for any inner meaning or 'message', it has in the intention of the author none."


Interesting I think that this can be only partly true. Tolkien was very certain about LotR etc not being allegories, not having any 'hidden' meanings.

But what about the non-hidden meanings? He was also quite happy to admit that he set his world in a world where his religious tenets were met, where nothing would contradict his Catholic religion. I can't believe that he didn't consciously set up the Ainur to be the equivalent of our angels - actually, I think he even talks about that in Letters. So is that a message or a theme he wrote into the books - consciously or unconsciously?
djinnj
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: December 26, 2003 03:27
Tolkien never did care for literary analysis and critical theory. I have a feeling he'd hate most post-modern literature as being too self-conscious. I think he's exaggerating a bit for effect though.

While I see his point, and I've met others in my studies who share a fear of analysis 'spoiling' the text, I disagree with this for all but the most extreme expressions of analysis. There is indeed a point where dissection loses sight of the larger entity, in this case the book and its companion texts. However, competent reading requires some degree of reflection and analysis, even for something as subjective as reader response. To make connections and to see relationships is something which we have to do in order to contextualize a story into a larger world. Without that, the story would have no lasting impact on the reader.

Deeper analysis is often a necessary result of re-reading, and comes from a desire to reap new and more subtle experiences from a familiar text. It can open up a text to a multiplicity of interpretations, none of which necessarily invalidate any others. I find it enriching as well as fascinating to try to see as many levels of meaning and as many of the unifying threads which permeate a text. The key is to always bring the analysis back to the whole text and the context of that text. To not dwell so long over the choice of a single word or phrase that the implications of the rest of the passage, chapter, book are lost.
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: December 31, 2003 02:51
I agree with djinnj. Talking about the books enables me to understand them better. I read LOTR four times over a period of 18 years, and each time I skipped bits and/or discovered new things. I also read the Silmarillion 3 times and still can't remember the main facts :blush:
Now I want to have a closer look on Tolkien's work, and I need to discuss it with fellow fans.
But we should keep in mind that it's all taken shape in one man's mind, not like historical facts that you can prove, more or less, with different sources and texts.
I see this as some sort of game, it took Tolkien years to write it, it will take us years to read it and all the implications. I love to listen to Christopher Lee and how he read LOTR every year, since it came out. I can well imagine myself doing the same.
But I also want to keep studying "real" mythologies, my favourite being celtic myths.
Valderra
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 06, 2005 02:17
For me, reading is to lose myself. It is to disappear completely into a different world than the one I am in now. If I begin to analyse things and look for allegorical occurences, the book loses its fun.
In terms of Tolkien, I never particularly analysed LotR. It was so brilliantly written that I didn't want to.


I feel the same. No matter what kind of book I read, I read it for the enjoyment, although I do question certain things that happen in a book but I don't discuss it to death.
In the case of LOTR, I often get homesick for Middle Earth, and whenever I read the story, I feel like coming home to a familiar place I haven't been to for a while. I don't need to analyse this wonderful world - I just want to be there.
Celebrian
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 06, 2005 06:55
I think it depends on the reasons for the analysis and what the analyst makes of it. Books like LotR practically beg to be delved into. There is so much to think about, so much to discover. Discussions with other readers enhance the experience enormously. It is, at the very least, a way to remain in the newly discovered "world" a little longer.

When it becomes a problem is when people start considering a fictional world more "real" than the on in which they live. There are a lot of fictional works out these days which people have turned into something bordering on religion. To me, that's just wrong and especially unfair to the author.
Tcherepin
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 13, 2005 10:20
I guess in a way this is much the same question as : "why do you love the books?"

For me the answer is really fairly simple....

Because they take me there.

I read the Silmarillion and I am on the side of the mountain with Glorfindel at the Fall of Gondolin. I can explore Nargothrond. I see Ulmo emerge from the waves. I'm a deck hand aboard with Earendil. I rest behind the Girdle of Melian. I climb the hard, hot stones to the opening below the summit of Mount Doom.

I, too am in love with Arwen.

They take me there..
elvishmusician
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 14, 2005 03:52
As some people have already said -for me the thing I most enjoy about Tolkien is that it makes you think. You read things and they link up somewhere else in the story -I really love finding all the links between characters in all the different books and looking at the themes of the story. To me this is enjoying the book.

I wouldn't say this is analysing it though -senior English at school has made us analyse so many things by teaching us to find anything from discourses of power, to representations and gaps/silences :dizzy: for me this ruins a story -we have done so many new articles using this, that I can't read one without automatically thinking 'what things has the author has done to reposition us?' :dizzy: -I guess when it comes to media some might think this is alright but when its books that you enjoy, it ruins your enjoyment of them (IMO anyway) -because you are looking more at what the author has done to make you think the way you do about characters/ places rather than just enjoying the literature. We analysed fairy tales last year to me fairy tales are not something that were ever meant to be analysed in this way, they are bed time stories for children . As far as what I consider to be analysing -we are not analysing Tolkien here (most of the time anyway) as the majority of our discussions in this forum are about the characters, places and how everything links together -not about how Tolkien tried to 'reposition us' or what discourses/representations there are. As much as I'd love the excuse to have LOTR used at school (in assignments other than choice ones), I'm sort of glad they haven't because to me (I know others have said this too) Middle Earth is made so real in the books as Tcherepin said -'it takes you there' and heavily analysing it might have the ability to take that away -or at least make you miss the beauty of the story.

LOL -sorry I've written so much, I didn't mean to ramble :blush:
LinweSingollo
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 16, 2005 09:31
I think the amount of analysis you apply to Tolkien's works depends on individual tastes. Some derive keener pleasure and appreciation the more they delve into the stories. I enjoy analyizing --- up to a certain point --- and where exactly that point is for me, I can't really say for sure.

But while some people love long, excruciatingly detailed discourses on whether or not balrogs have wings, after a while I begin to yawn and my eyes glaze over. I admire that sort of dedication to detail, but beyond a certain point, it kind of kills the enjoyment for me. Personally, I like a little mystery. I don't want every little enigma solved. Not yet, anyway.

The great thing about Tolkien's stories, is that there are always more layers and meanings and details to discover and ponder over. It's the only book I've read (over 40 times) whose story never palls or bores me. If I do start to get bored, I guess I can start wondering about those balrong wings.
"To the Hobbits. May they outlast the Sarumans and see spring again in the trees." J.R.R. Tolkien
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 16, 2005 10:46
I have to say that looking for meanings is fine, but as one person said, not to the point that what the teacher and "experts" say is the ONLY right way to interpret the writing. Let's face it, only the author *really* knows the correct interpretation! Everything else is all speculation. That's my biggest beef with literary analysis courses. Rarely do you get a teacher who admits this and encourages true exploration into ALL the potential meanings. Tolkien himself was most unhappy with people trying to pigeon-hole his works, making allegories and parables into them. Heh... Sorry, just hit a sore note as my son's struggling with one of these people in his junior year of high school. Grrr...
Morwinyoniel
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 17, 2005 07:02
I enjoy analysing - to an extent. I like to find out what inspired and influenced the author, to understand where his ideas come from, or how a certain part of the story connects with the bigger picture. But, if the analysis goes to the level of writing ten-page academic papers about minor details, I really start wondering if the person actually enjoys the story at all... As someone here already said, one shouldn't miss the forest for the trees.
Fattybolger
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 18, 2005 05:41
It's a very interesting question that has provoked equally interesting replies.

Personally I can't help analysing books I love - on every reading the mind seems to pick out a different slant. I can still remember the first time I read LoTR - practically non-stop for hour after hour after hour, deaf and blind to everything around me -but of course it was never the same as that again, and that wasn't the best reading, because I missed a lot in my haste to find out what happened next.

It IS very annoying when critics try to shoe-horn this book (or any other book) into their own pre-conceived ideas and then castigate the author because their approach doesn't work. I remember one (published, but hopefully long forgotten) critic complaining that the book was too aristocratic and didn't give enough room to the little guys- as if epic wasn't the aristocratic genre par excellence (and anyway, if hobbits aren't little guys, who is?).

I do think you can look for 'relevance' in it, though. I seem to recall that JRRT approved of this while rejecting allegorical interpretations (which made the Ring into the atom bomb and other sillinesses). One thing that struck me recently was the 'relevance' of the theme of productive disobedience to 'wrongful' or misconceived orders - as when Eomer disobeys orders to pursue the orcs who have taken Merry and Pippin captive, and again when he decides not to try and drag Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli back to Meduseld; or Faramir disobeys orders to kill wanderers astray in Ithilien or bring them back to Minas Tirith; or Beregond disobeys orders (at the risk of his life) in order to save Faramir from being burned alive. It suddenly linked in my mind with the lawyers at the Nuremberg trials and their refusal to accept the defence that SS men etc. who committed or connived at war crimes were 'merely obeying orders'. And it's still a relevant theme today. There are loads of others in LoTR, that's just one example. But that isn't to say that you have to interpret the LoTR in that way, it's just something that you might personally happen to find interesting and enlightening.

I find (now that I know the book practically off by heart) that the bothersome thing is the odd glitches in the plot which I quite involuntarily notice. Just one example, but a major one: it isn't until very late in the story ('The Last Debate') that Gandalf makes it clear that destroying the Ring will also destroy Sauron. Before that, it merely seems that destroying the Ring would stop Sauron getting any stronger than he is already - and they plainly can't cope with him as he is! I find this bothersome. There are numerous smaller glitches, too (example: Frodo tells Faramir in great detail about Gandalf's fall, yet when Faramir meets the resuscitated Gandalf a few days later he doesn't seem a bit surprised). That's where I, for one, over-analyse, because pretty well every fictional work has such glitches, most of them far worse than Tolkien's, but they don't bother me because I don't read those books so over and over and OVER again!
hobbitnamedeliza
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 18, 2005 12:46
The last two posts reminded me of some of the things I encountered in literature study...

Some of the "schools" of criticism that seemed determined to take all substance away from the literary work in question..."deconstructionism" was one that was big a few years ago. That one I could hope has gone into the great beyond. (?):evil:

The other tendency that is truly absurd is the desire of some academics to choose a particular critical approach that they can't seem to do without, and then proceed to try to jam every single literary work they encounter into that "round hole." The one that comes to mind was the time when a fellow student actually tried to criticize Melville's "Billy Budd" from a feminist perspective...That one was, to my mind, a bit of a stretch since there isn't a female character in the whole story!

Criticism, I think, like most other things in life, needs to be balanced and tempered with some common sense--much like Fattybolgers examples of Tolkien's characters knowing when to follow the "letter of the order" or "the spirit of the order."


Oh, and Fattybolger, I was surprised by you saying that Gandalf hadn't specifically revealed that the destruction of the ring would mean Sauron's destruction....I'm not sure if it's just me; but I think I understood that from the first time he discusses the subject at the Council of Elrond. Interesting!

[Edited on 18/5/2005 by hobbitnamedeliza]
Fattybolger
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 25, 2005 06:06
Quite agree, on both counts. As I said, it's hard to find works of fiction that stand up to niggling analysis as well as LoTR. (None of Shakespeare's plays do, for a start, if you're looking at the story, and quite often not if you're looking at the characters, either. Is Hamlet consistent, for instance?)

What's good about this forum is that at least we all start (I presume) from a positive basis and are not out to niggle and sneer at the author just because he's writing 'escapist' literture ('so what if he is?' we say, 'it's still great stuff'. ). Actually, the thing that annoys me most about hostile critics (e.g. C.N. Manlove) is that they often say something in Tolkien is 'bad' or 'fails', without providing any justification at all. That REALLY bugs me! (It bugs me when the movie scriptwriters move in that direction, too - but that's another story.)
pv
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: April 19, 2010 06:11
Someone once wrote of Sting's "Fields of Gold" that it
never rises above a mezzo-forte and has a melodic and harmonic simplicity with which Mozart could identify.

Would that comment help you enjoy the song more, or not? The answer would vary from individual to individual.

There are people who love to explore the details of Tolkien's world. They love to talk about the movements of the Sindar, or whether or not Balrogs had wings, or whether Celeborn was older than Galadriel. This is how they enjoy Tolkien's work, by delving into the minutiae of Middle Earth. Others respond simply to the story, so much so that in some extreme cases, they enjoy the films, but cannot bring themselves to read the books!

Analysis is good as long as it helps you understand the books better & enhances your enjoyment of the author's work. But if the analysis is done simply to show off the critic's skill in using jargon, and also show off his/her knowledge of obscure details, that doesn't help the reader much.

http://monstersandcritics.wordpress.com/
Candy
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: April 23, 2010 12:24
Quite right, PV. Besides, the fact that Tolkien sometimes either contradicted himself in his revisions or didn't give us much detail allows us room for manoevre: we can give Balrogs wings if we want to. There's no need to argue about things like that because there's not a reason to.

I don't see the revisions as being a problem because it gives us wiggle-room to write stuff as we see fit -- within reason. Thus Elrond and Elros can be five years old when returned to Cirdan or Gil-galad (your choice, since it's not specified) or older.

Mind you, that's just my opinion.
Hercynian
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: April 23, 2010 04:33
I'm looking for certain threads in Tolkien. I read any book to understand what the author is saying in general about life and its big questions. That's why I don't read "modern realism" anymore. They're simply not saying anything (worth saying). Fantasy has taken on way too much mod-real too. For example, Neil Gaiman is a very popular writer these days, a major seller, but he says pretty much nothing. Sure, he has stock evil and generic good, and he tells a good yarn, but he's not really saying anything -- as if he's purposefully being apolitical -- and anything purposeful, premeditated is, well, a political stance in and of itself.

At this point many people would say, "But why does he have to say anything 'big' or 'political'?" Yeah, I don't know how to answer that -- to their satisfaction. They're basically accusing me of missing the enjoyment, of being too up-tight, of over-analysing. Right. But I believe it's a choice, a pro-active choice when people refuse to get deeper and analyse deeply. It's not truly spontaneous mirth driving their "I'm just going to enjoy this and no further" attitude. It's really a socio-political stand (for post-modern relativism/nihilism) just like any other socio-political stance-position.

So no, I don't think it's possible to "over-analyse." The whole "did Balrogs have wings" vein is perhaps putting the trees under microscopes and missing the forest as a whole. But in general, Tolkien wrote with minutia, great storyline, and big-picture in mind. That's why he was so amazing -- and possibly in the top 5 or 10 Western authors ever. Somebody once said that good music makes you homesick for a place you've never found, nor will ever. This is Tolkien in a nutshell: THE ultimate music -- of my life, at least. And yes, I'm going to analyse the heck out of it, so amazing as it is to have done this to/for me.

But of course, on second thought, there's the great irony of Tolkien being so under the radar, so meant to absorb and NOT analyse, to feel and not intellectualize. But then maybe we can say that it's the deepest feelings that cause the most "brain flatulence." At least with me that's the case. :love:

[Edited on 23/4/2010 by Hercynian]

[Edited on 23/4/2010 by Hercynian]
Candy
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: April 25, 2010 05:02
One thing I do love about Tolkien is that he uses themes of self-sacrifice and the importance of duty to others in his stories. People go out on a limb when they've got little to gain from it: see Bilbo's return to the Shire at the end of The Hobbit for details.

The thing is, those themes are a part of the overall fabric of the story -- and not necessarily something you think about when reading it. Yes, it adds to the characterization and gives him depth as a person, but I'm not sure that Neil Gaiman fails to do that in his stories. Perhaps he simply does it in a different way. Or I've missed your point completely.
arwen1300
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 28, 2010 11:07
I don't usually analyze books, I just enjoy reading it.
With The Hobbit, that's what it's like for me. I don't try to analyze it or anything, it's just a story about a hobbit. Or, if you will, A Hobbit's Tale.

The Lord of the Rings is a little different. There are so many parts to it and such complications and twists in his writing that you don't notice if you don't analyze AT LEAST a little, that I do analyze the trilogy. I think there are many deeper meaning in things that you should look for, and that it does not lose the fun of reading it.

The shorter stories, Farmer Giles of Ham, Roverandom, Leaf by Niggle, actually everything in Tales from the Perilous Realms except Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other poems are much more fun to read without analyzation, and I didn't really fing too much to look at in those.

Adventures of Tom Bombadil and other poems is different, becuse I really can't help analyzing poems, and it is a lot more fulfilling to me if I do analyze poems first.

Everything else, Silmarillion, Histories, Unfinished Tales, etc. I have to analyze because otherwise it is far too confusing and I'm not sure of what's going on. Especially Silmarillion, because it's more of a history of Middle-Earth than a sotry.

I hadn't given much thought to how much I analyze books before, some I do, and some I don't, but it's not something I conciously think about. If it ever stopped being fun to analyze, I wouldn't, but the complicatedness, details, potential for analyzation, and style make it so enjoyable to analyze and fing new things in his writing every time I read it.
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Candy
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Post RE: Do we over-analyse? Do we miss the enjoyment?
on: May 28, 2010 11:13
Overdoing it can rather spoil the fun, though. I read to escape.
wolfbladequeen
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on: June 16, 2013 06:02
I think that if you read it once and enjoy the story, it is nice to find more every other time you read it, by analysis if need be, and that understanding more about Tolkien's world helps us to feel more of a part of it, which can make reading more enjoyable, but that if you focus in on one part of it too much, you lose the connection to the bigger picture.
If anyone had happened to look out of a window on the east side of the palace, they might have noticed two figures in the darkness, dancing in a square bordered by living plants, out of time with the dancers inside but perfectly in time with each other.
cirdaneth
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on: June 17, 2013 10:23
My feelings exactly. I've been discovering new things in Tolkien since LotR was first published in my teens. And of course there's even more to discover since The History of Middle Earth appeared.
elegaer
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on: July 28, 2013 04:32
Cor, a thread I started 10 years is still in operation
findemaxam48
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on: July 29, 2013 06:25
Sometimes,I think. I, as an Ap English class student, must be forced to really go into books at school. And sometimes that kills a lot of the joy. But if Im reading by myself, the only thing i need to worry abut is over-obsession
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
Ilandir
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on: August 06, 2013 01:30
I agree with many of the posts here.

To me, it's a mixture of both enjoyment and analysis - one feeding upon the other.

Tolkien's stories (not just those related to Middle-earth), can be experienced on two levels: 1)simply as a story, poem or essay and 2)part of the further enjoyment one can experience from Tolkien is the act of delving deeper into the work and analyse certain details; finding hidden gems within obscure sentences; cross-referencing dates, with events in the story; and speculating on some of the mysteries Tolkien himself left for his readers.
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findemaxam48
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on: August 06, 2013 12:33
I think the second thing you posted is the better thng to go off of
We were one in the same, running like moths to the flame. You'd hang on every word I'd say, but now they only ricochet.
cirdaneth
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on: August 06, 2013 02:14
Even today ... after nearly 60 years of reading LotR ... I picked up on Sam after the rescue realising he hadn't heard laughter in a long time and I could hear Tolkien speaking through him on his return from the Battle of the Somme.
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