Post by Andorinha on Jan 16, 2009 11:56:12 GMT -6
The Sil ARCHIVE: Reading aids
_________________________________________
Reply
Message 1 of 9 in Discussion
From: megn1
Sent: 3/25/2002 6:54 PM
Sil can be a tough read the first time. Perhaps together we can make it easier.
To help first timers, I have put together a document called "Valar" and uploaded it to the documents section of this board (under misc.). It is a Microsoft Word document - please let me know if you can't open it and I'll try to post it in other formats.
This document contains only information from the Valaquenta (second chapter), so there are no spoilers. It attempts to summerize the information in that chapter, for easy reference later on.
My advice is that you print up this document (one short page), and stick it in the back of your book. Then when you read the Valaquenta, you can just "taste" it for flavor - get a general sense of who the Valar are - without feeling the need to remember any of it, or even make sense of it. Read lightly and enjoy it, rather than being overwhelmed. Refer back to this document whenever any of the Valar are mentioned in the later stories.
I'm looking forward to reading with you!!
____________________________________________
Reply
Message 2 of 9 in Discussion
From: Soleil
Sent: 3/26/2002 11:11 AM
Megn...
Thank you for compiling and posting this! I've printed it and know it will be most helpful. I must admit I am waiting with anxious apprehension to begin this study. I am so glad I'll be doing it as part of a group...solo I might bail!
Soleil
_________________________________________
Reply
Message 3 of 9 in Discussion
From: jerseyshore
Sent: 3/26/2002 12:13 PM
Many Thanks, Megn!
I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get with this book! Just reading Shippey's chapter made my head spin.
__________________________________________
Reply
Message 4 of 9 in Discussion
From: megn1
Sent: 3/31/2002 10:04 PM
Further advice for getting started on Sil:
The forward has very helpful information, but perhaps not in the most comprehensible form. Let me re-phrase what Christopher Tolkien is trying to say:
On their way back to the shire, the hobbits stop at Rivendell. While there, Bilbo gives Frodo "three books of lore that he had made at various times, written in his spidery hand, and labelled on their red backs: "Translations from the Elvish, by B.B." That's what you hold in your hands. It is a gathering of diverse writings, from various sources, that tell one history through a variety of voices. Imagine that you are in the library at Rivendell, and reading from different books that you have pulled off the shelves. Because they are all history of real events, they will agree with each other for the most part. But because they are history, witnessed by a variety of eyes and remembered by a variety of storytellers, there will also be contradictions, and bits that won't quite reconcile.
This happened not by the design of J.R.R.T., but as a result of the way it was written - over a period of more than 50 years, in a variety of styles, with a variety of purposes. The overall story was set very early on, which gives the underlying coherence, but the individual parts changed over time. J.R.R.T. never could bring himself to finish it - always working on different bits and pieces, refining and changing them.
So the book is uneven - in style, in detail, in the speed with which the story moves, and in the voice in which it is narrated.
Keep this in mind, as you enjoy this masterpiece of a lifetime!
______________________________________________
Reply
Message 5 of 9 in Discussion
From: MusicMom
Sent: 4/2/2002 11:04 AM
Hmmm. Sounds a bit like reading the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus.
Thanks, Megn1, for the helpful hints. (and for the encouragement to read lightly! Right now, that seems to be the only way I can read--my brain is on overload! I seriously considered "bailing" but I really want to read this--and know I can't do it alone!)
MusicMom
________________________________________
Reply
Message 6 of 9 in Discussion
From: CamelliaDanderfluff
Sent: 4/2/2002 5:19 PM
P.S. Gerald has to sleep SOMETIME! Doesn't he? lol
_______________________________________
Reply
Message 7 of 9 in Discussion
From: MusicMom
Sent: 4/4/2002 10:22 AM
Megn1, I'm ready. Bring on Quenta Silmarillion! With your helpful hints and my new book that just arrived yesterday (Tolkien's World from A to Z by Robert Foster) I think I can "conquer" this world! At least, if I forget who someone is, I can now look it up.
My copy of Journeys of Frodo by Barbara Strachey also arrived. What a beautiful book! The maps are so clear and easy to understand. I can hardly wait to start my nest reading of LOTR. I may have to retire to find time for all the reading I want to do! lol
(Can you tell I'm a little excited? )
MusicMom
________________________________________
Reply
Message 8 of 9 in Discussion
From: Azurite
Sent: 4/9/2002 7:50 AM
This is the first time I've participated in a MSN community, so please forgive me if this seems clueless - I would like to read the file called 'Valar' but I haven't been able to find it - or a 'misc' section. Is there a URL? Where should I go for it?
namaste,
Azurite
_____________________________________________
Reply
Message 9 of 9 in Discussion
From: DaleAnn
Sent: 4/9/2002 10:45 AM
Azurite, so glad you joined our community. The Valar.doc can be found in the Documents page (in the column on your left.) It is in the misc. folder of that page. Valar.doc has to be downloaded into your computer. If you have trouble, ask again. DA
_________________________________________
Reply
Message 1 of 9 in Discussion
From: megn1
Sent: 3/25/2002 6:54 PM
Sil can be a tough read the first time. Perhaps together we can make it easier.
To help first timers, I have put together a document called "Valar" and uploaded it to the documents section of this board (under misc.). It is a Microsoft Word document - please let me know if you can't open it and I'll try to post it in other formats.
This document contains only information from the Valaquenta (second chapter), so there are no spoilers. It attempts to summerize the information in that chapter, for easy reference later on.
My advice is that you print up this document (one short page), and stick it in the back of your book. Then when you read the Valaquenta, you can just "taste" it for flavor - get a general sense of who the Valar are - without feeling the need to remember any of it, or even make sense of it. Read lightly and enjoy it, rather than being overwhelmed. Refer back to this document whenever any of the Valar are mentioned in the later stories.
I'm looking forward to reading with you!!
____________________________________________
Reply
Message 2 of 9 in Discussion
From: Soleil
Sent: 3/26/2002 11:11 AM
Megn...
Thank you for compiling and posting this! I've printed it and know it will be most helpful. I must admit I am waiting with anxious apprehension to begin this study. I am so glad I'll be doing it as part of a group...solo I might bail!
Soleil
_________________________________________
Reply
Message 3 of 9 in Discussion
From: jerseyshore
Sent: 3/26/2002 12:13 PM
Many Thanks, Megn!
I have a feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get with this book! Just reading Shippey's chapter made my head spin.
__________________________________________
Reply
Message 4 of 9 in Discussion
From: megn1
Sent: 3/31/2002 10:04 PM
Further advice for getting started on Sil:
The forward has very helpful information, but perhaps not in the most comprehensible form. Let me re-phrase what Christopher Tolkien is trying to say:
On their way back to the shire, the hobbits stop at Rivendell. While there, Bilbo gives Frodo "three books of lore that he had made at various times, written in his spidery hand, and labelled on their red backs: "Translations from the Elvish, by B.B." That's what you hold in your hands. It is a gathering of diverse writings, from various sources, that tell one history through a variety of voices. Imagine that you are in the library at Rivendell, and reading from different books that you have pulled off the shelves. Because they are all history of real events, they will agree with each other for the most part. But because they are history, witnessed by a variety of eyes and remembered by a variety of storytellers, there will also be contradictions, and bits that won't quite reconcile.
This happened not by the design of J.R.R.T., but as a result of the way it was written - over a period of more than 50 years, in a variety of styles, with a variety of purposes. The overall story was set very early on, which gives the underlying coherence, but the individual parts changed over time. J.R.R.T. never could bring himself to finish it - always working on different bits and pieces, refining and changing them.
So the book is uneven - in style, in detail, in the speed with which the story moves, and in the voice in which it is narrated.
Keep this in mind, as you enjoy this masterpiece of a lifetime!
______________________________________________
Reply
Message 5 of 9 in Discussion
From: MusicMom
Sent: 4/2/2002 11:04 AM
Hmmm. Sounds a bit like reading the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus.
Thanks, Megn1, for the helpful hints. (and for the encouragement to read lightly! Right now, that seems to be the only way I can read--my brain is on overload! I seriously considered "bailing" but I really want to read this--and know I can't do it alone!)
MusicMom
________________________________________
Reply
Message 6 of 9 in Discussion
From: CamelliaDanderfluff
Sent: 4/2/2002 5:19 PM
P.S. Gerald has to sleep SOMETIME! Doesn't he? lol
_______________________________________
Reply
Message 7 of 9 in Discussion
From: MusicMom
Sent: 4/4/2002 10:22 AM
Megn1, I'm ready. Bring on Quenta Silmarillion! With your helpful hints and my new book that just arrived yesterday (Tolkien's World from A to Z by Robert Foster) I think I can "conquer" this world! At least, if I forget who someone is, I can now look it up.
My copy of Journeys of Frodo by Barbara Strachey also arrived. What a beautiful book! The maps are so clear and easy to understand. I can hardly wait to start my nest reading of LOTR. I may have to retire to find time for all the reading I want to do! lol
(Can you tell I'm a little excited? )
MusicMom
________________________________________
Reply
Message 8 of 9 in Discussion
From: Azurite
Sent: 4/9/2002 7:50 AM
This is the first time I've participated in a MSN community, so please forgive me if this seems clueless - I would like to read the file called 'Valar' but I haven't been able to find it - or a 'misc' section. Is there a URL? Where should I go for it?
namaste,
Azurite
_____________________________________________
Reply
Message 9 of 9 in Discussion
From: DaleAnn
Sent: 4/9/2002 10:45 AM
Azurite, so glad you joined our community. The Valar.doc can be found in the Documents page (in the column on your left.) It is in the misc. folder of that page. Valar.doc has to be downloaded into your computer. If you have trouble, ask again. DA