Comment by macleginn

One fascinating aspect of Tolkien’s oeuvre is that his writings are, how to put it, endlessly derivative. Not only did he use words from different languages, motifs from different mythologies, and images from different poetical traditions. He also mercilessly raided the writings of George MacDonald for characters and plot elements (try reading ‘Phantastes’ or ‘The Princess and the Goblin’ to appreciate just how freaking much he is indebted to him). And still the end result feels somehow original and fresh. Perhaps, one can say that Tolkien is 20th century‘s Shakespeare: a writer who invented nothing but who was absolutely unrivaled in re-arranging things.