"Epic Pooh" is a 1978 essay by the British science fiction writer

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

, which reviews the field of

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

, with a particular focus on epic fantasy written for children. In it Moorcock critiques

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' for its politically conservative assumptions and its

escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general s ...

. Originally written for the

British Science Fiction Association The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British person, British academics, science fiction fandom, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers in order to promote the writing, ...

, "Epic Pooh" was revised for inclusion in Moorcock's 1989 book '' Wizardry and Wild Romance'', and updated in another revision in 2008. Critics and scholars have objected to multiple aspects of Moorcock's essay.

Essay

In his 1978 essay "Epic Pooh", the science fiction writer

criticises a group of celebrated writers of epic fantasy for children, including

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

, and

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

. His criticism is based on two principal grounds: what he sees as the poverty of their writing style, and their politics. Moorcock accuses these authors of espousing a form of "corrupted Romance", which he identifies with

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

ism. The defining traits of this attitude are an anti-technological, anti-urban stance which Moorcock sees as ultimately misanthropic, that glorifies a vanishing or vanished rural idyll, and is rooted in middle-class or

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

attitudes towards progress and political change. The title arises from Moorcock's argument that the writing of Tolkien, Lewis, Adams and others has a similar purpose to the

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

writings of

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

, another author of whom he disapproves: it is according to Moorcock fiction intended to comfort rather than challenge. Fantasy writers whom Moorcock cites approvingly in the essay, by contrast, include

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

and

Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native count ...

.. Originally published in "Epic Pooh" was included in Moorcock's 1989 book '' Wizardry and Wild Romance''.

Revisions

A 2008 revision to the piece adds mention of the author

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

and drops those whose names had become less familiar. In an author's note, Moorcock also identifies

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal

's ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' as deserving credit. As an example of the revision, from the original and from the revised version

Analysis

The essay has been criticised by multiple authors from different backgrounds. "Epic Pooh" and

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, literary critic, and journalist. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Wilson began his career as a journalist, writing ...

's essay "Oo, Those Awful Orcs" have been called "infamous negative criticisms" of Tolkien. Ishay Landa calls "Epic Pooh" a "prototypical critique" of Tolkien's supposedly "'complacent' escapism", in which Moorcock views Tolkien as "essentially a conservative, soothing container of social tensions." Richard Forest notes Moorcock's "famously dim view of Tolkien's moral and aesthetic vision". Thomas Ingram states that "Epic Pooh" is "unfair to Tolkien at many points", but that Tolkien's ideas of race were indeed "noxious". The Tolkien scholar David Bratman writes that "one wonders what book Moorcock read, because it's certainly not ''The Lord of the Rings''." He suggests that Moorcock never read the book, explaining why the fragments Moorcock quotes are "entirely out of context". Madawc Williams, in the Tolkien Society's journal '' Mallorn'', comments that "Moorcock has simply sneered at Tolkien without knowing what he is talking about," describing the essay as "a shallow work; the ramblings of a light-weight thinker with a fairly average knowledge of literature." Williams notes that Moorcock attempts to treat fantasy as distinct from folktale, legend, or myth, but comments that all four of these are tightly interrelated. Williams notes that ''The Lord of the Rings'' embodies many influences, from the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, so attempts to categorise it may easily fail. Moorcock's idea that

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s say nothing serious, and ignore death, is simply wrong, writes Williams. As for ''The Lord of the Rings'', it may resemble a fairy tale in that it has a happy ending in

Sauron Sauron () is the title character and the main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor. He has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middle-earth, using the power of the One Ring, which he ...

's downfall, but it has a sad one in the departure of the

Elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

, he notes. The protagonist Frodo is incurable; the hero

Aragorn Aragorn () is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn is a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of ...

wins his kingdom and marries the Elf-lady Arwen, but that tale too "ends in death and tragic parting." In short, Williams writes, Tolkien's writing is informed by the real world and personal experience of war, and is far broader in its reach than Moorcock's own writing.

Legacy

The science fiction author

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( , born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and Literary criticism, literary critic. He often describes his work as "weird fiction", and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called ...

has in the scholar of literature Eric Sandberg's view taken on Moorcock's "critique of Tolkien's conservative politics". Sandberg notes that Moorcock called ''The Lord of the Rings'' "a pernicious confirmation of the values of a declining nation with a morally bankrupt class whose cowardly self-protection is primarily responsible for the problems England answered with the ruthless logic of

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

," while Miéville mentions Tolkien's "small-minded and reactionary love for hierarchical status-quos" and "belief in absolute morality that blurs moral and political complexity".

References

External links

Epic Pooh
Revised version. Michael Moorcock, (British Fantasy Society, 1978) {{Lord of the Rings 1978 essays 1989 essays British essays Essays about literature Science fiction studies Middle-earth Tolkien studies Works by Michael Moorcock