signed Unbound
by TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
Unbound. Fine. Two quarto leaves (8" x 10¼"). Typed on one and a half pages and Signed in ink. Dated June 22, 1957 from Merton College, Oxford, with the original mailing envelope postmarked two days later. Addressed to Andrew Schiller, a University of Chicago linguist, living in Western Springs, Illinois, U.S.A. Old folds from mailing else fine. Tolkien responds in detail to a series of queries concerning his translation of *Sir Gawain and the Green Knight* that had been recently performed on the BBC, and revealing the text was "a completely new translation of the whole poem." Despite acknowledging the "broadcast was extremely successful," he admits he was not fond of the performers: "For without claiming any notable skill as a reader of verse, I think I should have done better than the people they employed for the purpose."
Tolkien then discusses his distinction between metre and prosody (providing his definition of both), before making an interesting case about trying to analyze ancient metre:
"In dealing with a dead metrical practice, that has not left a record or tradition of 'the rules', I think that most enquiries, and notably those dealing with the 'alliterative' tradition, become confused. They seem to me, to make an allegory, like the work of men attempting to analyze the calisthenics and physical rhythms of two tennis-players, including the differences between them, with out bothering to enquire what is the function of the artificial white lines on the grass, or observing the wholly preposterous net. They may, or may not, succeed in saying something interesting about the motions of a man hitting a bouncing object with a racket, or about bodily motions in general, but they will say very little about lawn-tennis, in which human physique and artificial rules are in constant interaction."
Toklien goes on to encourage his correspondent: "What do you think were 'the rules' in this case? And how were they learned? There must have been some... Where does alliteration come in? I think this is the first point of enquiry."
Finally Tolkien warns Schiller: "Please do not take these very casual remarks too seriously! They are hardly more than a few question marks in reply to yours."
A detailed and, despite their characterization of "casual remarks," substantive discussion of prosody and metre. (Inventory #: 576402)
Tolkien then discusses his distinction between metre and prosody (providing his definition of both), before making an interesting case about trying to analyze ancient metre:
"In dealing with a dead metrical practice, that has not left a record or tradition of 'the rules', I think that most enquiries, and notably those dealing with the 'alliterative' tradition, become confused. They seem to me, to make an allegory, like the work of men attempting to analyze the calisthenics and physical rhythms of two tennis-players, including the differences between them, with out bothering to enquire what is the function of the artificial white lines on the grass, or observing the wholly preposterous net. They may, or may not, succeed in saying something interesting about the motions of a man hitting a bouncing object with a racket, or about bodily motions in general, but they will say very little about lawn-tennis, in which human physique and artificial rules are in constant interaction."
Toklien goes on to encourage his correspondent: "What do you think were 'the rules' in this case? And how were they learned? There must have been some... Where does alliteration come in? I think this is the first point of enquiry."
Finally Tolkien warns Schiller: "Please do not take these very casual remarks too seriously! They are hardly more than a few question marks in reply to yours."
A detailed and, despite their characterization of "casual remarks," substantive discussion of prosody and metre. (Inventory #: 576402)
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