MatthewW
New Member
This isn't really a question about the text, so much as an observation about the course in general that I'd love to get Corey's response to.
For most of Exploring The Lord of the Rings, there has been a strong emphasis on being careful not to "go beyond the text." We did our best to take our cues about how to interpret things from the text itself, without looking forward to later parts of the book, and without referencing any of Tolkien's other works. I found that approach very refreshing, as it really helped me get past my familiarity with the books and see the story with fresh eyes. In recent sessions, we've been less and less strict about this. We've been freely "remembering ahead" quite a bit, and bringing in stuff from the Silmarillion and elsewhere.
I'm not opposed to this sort of treatment (it brings a lot of fascinating insights), but I do miss the old way as well! I'd love it if we could get back to doing more close reading of the text itself, without going beyond the text. Or maybe we could do both, if we are clear about when we are looking just at the text itself, and when we are freely bringing in all the relevant context.
This is a discussion that came up quite a bit in the Discord chat last week, since we had quite a Silmarillion-heavy week talking about the "Elf-friends of old."
Anyway, I'd love to hear what Corey's thoughts are on this topic these days!
I still am very much enjoying the discussion and learning a lot.
For most of Exploring The Lord of the Rings, there has been a strong emphasis on being careful not to "go beyond the text." We did our best to take our cues about how to interpret things from the text itself, without looking forward to later parts of the book, and without referencing any of Tolkien's other works. I found that approach very refreshing, as it really helped me get past my familiarity with the books and see the story with fresh eyes. In recent sessions, we've been less and less strict about this. We've been freely "remembering ahead" quite a bit, and bringing in stuff from the Silmarillion and elsewhere.
I'm not opposed to this sort of treatment (it brings a lot of fascinating insights), but I do miss the old way as well! I'd love it if we could get back to doing more close reading of the text itself, without going beyond the text. Or maybe we could do both, if we are clear about when we are looking just at the text itself, and when we are freely bringing in all the relevant context.
This is a discussion that came up quite a bit in the Discord chat last week, since we had quite a Silmarillion-heavy week talking about the "Elf-friends of old."
Anyway, I'd love to hear what Corey's thoughts are on this topic these days!
I still am very much enjoying the discussion and learning a lot.
