The word eucatastrophe (good catastrophe) was coined by J.R.R. Tolkien to describe what he believed was the essence and highest function of fairy-stories.
It is the sudden, unexpected joyous turn.
Tolkien explains, “In such stories when the sudden ‘turn’ comes we get a piercing glimpse of joy, and heart’s desire, that for a moment passes outside the frame, rends indeed the very web of story, and lets a gleam come through” (‘On Fairy-Stories’, 61).
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Smaug’s Scales Recipe
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“The Hobbit” at Eighty
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John Elton Pletcher loves storytelling, all-things-Tolkien, and literary analysis (with a special eye for everyday applicability). Speaker, author, pastor, and curator of @GandalfTheGuide, John lives in Lancaster, PA with his wonderful wife, Nancy, and...
“My Precious” and the Human Condition
Author Scott Sauls writes: Do you remember what Gollum called the ring of power in The Lord of the Rings? His “Precious.” J.R.R. Tolkien was reading the human condition when he came up with that little detail. It is our fallen human tendency to grasp a...
What does “eucatastrophe” mean?
From an interview I did with the late Dr. Michael Stanton back in 2004: One thing I have noticed is that even though Tolkien coined the term back in the late 1930s, when he was still in the early stages of writing LOTR, very few of his earlier...
We’re recreating Middle-earth just for you: LIVE Music
Join us November 9, 10 in Greenville, SC for the first annual Celebrate Tolkien event. as we recreate Middle-earth just for you! Scholars from all over the globe will enrich your knowledge of Tolkien. Gorgeous music will make your spirit soar; food and ale will make...
10 of the Most Popular Tolkien Quotes on Twitter
Hobbits, orcs, elves, dwarves, and other creatures from Middle Earth will descend on downtown Greenville this fall to celebrate English author JRR Tolkien, the beloved creator of “The Lord of the Rings.”
Tolkien fans are being encouraged to dress in their best Middle Earth costumes for the first annual “Celebrate Tolkien” conference, which will be held at the Old Cigar Warehouse November 9-10, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Our goal is honor and appreciate Tolkien’s work with this conference,” said organizer Dan Cruver. “We’re encouraging everyone
