 | |
| Author | Verlyn Flieger |
|---|---|
| Subject | Tolkien's legendarium |
| Genre | Literary criticism |
| Publisher | Kent State University Press |
Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | A Question of Time |
Interrupted Music is a 2005 book of literary analysis byVerlyn Flieger ofJ. R. R. Tolkien'slegendarium, the mass of documents summarized inThe Silmarillion. Despite its title, it is not aboutTolkien's use of music; it explores how and why he set about creatinga mythology for England, what models he used as a guide – especiallyElias Lönnrot andArthurian legend, and how he made the mythology resemble a real one. The book has been well received by scholars; they have stated that the chapter on how Tolkien made the legendarium seem like a genuine tradition the most important in the book.
The philologist and fantasy authorJ. R. R. Tolkien spent much of his life constructinghis legendarium, a body of writings on his fictional world ofMiddle-earth.[1] He is best known for his children's bookThe Hobbit and his fantasy novelThe Lord of the Rings, both set in Middle-earth.[2]
Verlyn Flieger is a scholar of English literature. She is also known as aTolkien scholar,[3][4] including for her books onTolkien's legendarium,Splintered Light[5][6] andA Question of Time.[7] She has won theMythopoeic Scholarship Award for her work on Tolkien'sMiddle-earth writings.[8]
The book's title alludes to the music of creation in theAinulindalë at the start ofThe Silmarillion; the music is interrupted by the evilMelkor, spoiling the world ofArda. The book is not aboutTolkien's use of music as such.[9]
The book is in three parts. Part 1 examines Tolkien's "body of connected legend", which he intended asa mythology for England. The four chapters assess Tolkien's motives for attempting this; the models available to him, including people such asElias Lönnrot who assembled the Finnish epic poem, theKalevala, and literary traditions such asArthurian legend; points of view on the mythology; and the way Tolkien assembled a literary tradition.[10] She states that Tolkien presentsThe Lord of the Rings at four levels: "as the story itself; as one version of that story embodying references to other versions; as a historical artifact—theRed Book; [and] as a modern edition of that book complete with scholarly and critical apparatus".[11]
Part 2 describes how Tolkien intended to present his legendarium, in particularby framing it witha time-travelling visitor such asEriol/Ælfwine the mariner.[10]
Part 3 looks atCeltic influences on Tolkien.[10] He had stated that he disliked the Celtic in a letter, but Flieger notes that he also said that his mythology should possess "the fair elusive beauty that some call Celtic".[12] The influences she identifies include the Celticotherworld, stories of "sunken or engulfed lands" like Tolkien'sNúmenor, and theimmram tradition of wandering sea-voyages.[13]
Interrupted Music was first published byKent State University Press in 2005, in paperback format.[14] The book is not illustrated.
David Bratman, inMythlore, describesInterrupted Music as "a full-length meditation on the framing of the series" of 12 volumes ofThe History of Middle-earth.[7]Gergely Nagy, inTolkien Studies, writes that the book proves that Flieger is a "good established Tolkien critic", and in particular that she is "a critic whose work can be built on."[10] Shelley Gurney writes inUtopian Studies that Flieger "deals eloquently and concisely with the fundamental ideas behind ... Tolkien's mythology", and that she considers Flieger "the foremost scholar in research onThe Silmarillion".[15]
Cami Agan writes inMythlore that Flieger's books "establish Tolkien's grounding in [literary] sources ... [and] offer scintillating readings of Tolkien's themes, his processes of revision and recasting, and the resulting complexity of Middle-earth which he dedicated 'to England'".[16] She adds thatInterrupted Music uses "Tolkien's conception of creation as Music in order to explore the complex process of composition" of his legendarium.[16]
Elizabeth Renneisen comments that "If Flieger's purpose is to offer a definitive outline of Tolkien's brilliant attempt at an English mythology, she falls short of success", adding however that Flieger certainly succeeds in encouraging readers to speculate about Tolkien's mythology.[9]
Thomas Fornet-Ponse, inVII, writes that the tradition chapter shows how "Tolkien depicts his work like a true mythology with different layering, multiple narrators, overlapping texts and variant versions."[17]
Nagy considers the chapter on the tradition of the legendarium "an admirable synthesis", and "the most important part of the book", and thatTolkien's self-referentiality is "very effectively reflected on".[10]
Gurney states that the tradition chapter is "the most significant", showing how the legendarium "adheres to the established mythic tradition" by illustrating each means of transmission of myths inThe Lord of the Rings. She comments that she found the book straightforward to read, but cautions that readers without "a passing knowledge of at least some of Tolkien's sources" might find it "confusing".[15]
