There is one story and one story only
That will prove worth your telling,
Whether as learned bard or gifted child;
To it all lines or lesser gauds belong
That startle with their shining
Such common stories as they stray into.
~ Robert Graves, To Juan at the Winter Solstice
This blog is an ongoing commentary on The Lord of the Rings.
Being mortal, I occasionally get distracted by sublunary phenomena and waste time thinking about philosophy, airports, or other quotidiana.
In the main, however, I use this blog to reflect on my experience re-reading the Lord of the Rings for the first time since junior high. I try (but not too hard) to read the trilogy the way my English professors taught me to read the Canterbury Tales and Paradise Lost. The method is called “close reading”; and for those familiar with Ransom and the Vanderbilt enclave, it comes out awfully close to New Criticism.
All constructive criticism, new or old, is welcome!
