Re: Poll by Email No. 3

Daivd Peterson wrote:
>Question 1:
>
>D.  I don't want to say that I hate Tolkien and his elves, but I really,
>really dislike them.  From a fiction point of view (I'm a fiction writer
>first), I find the Lord of the Rings story rather dull and repetitive
>(recycled plot problems with different kooky characters and the occasional
>"sudden twist", whose position is also rather predictable).  Not that
>predictability is bad inherently (everyone goes to a Shakespearean tragedy
>knowing everyone is going to die), but this type I find unexciting.  From a
>conlanging point of view, I've only looked very briefly at his languages,
>and
>they didn't interest me.  Thus, I can't say anything for their complexity
>or
>artistry; I don't doubt they're amazing.  Yet, I didn't even know he
>created
>languages until I joined this list, which was well after I'd started my
>first
>language--I thought the only other language ever created had been Esperanto
>(I hadn't done much searching on the web).  However (and for those who like
>Tolkien, please read this part), I can look at what Tolkien has done and
>appreciate it.  He's created something massive and complete, and even
>though
>I don't much care for it, I won't go around decrying him from the highest
>tower.  Wuthering Heights, on the other hand...
Complete? As a matter of fact, Tolkien's languages aren't even close to
complete, mainly because Tolkien couldn't really control his creativity -
there was always something new to try out.

                                               Andreas


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