The True Magic Of The World Of Faerie - 2199 Words

When one thinks of the world of Faerie, they tend to imagine wondrous and fantastical places, however while they make occurrences they are rarely the bulk of the tale. In order to contrast the wonder and goodness there have to be places where it is absent or darkened and perverted. The true magic of the stories lies in the consolation, the restoring of these desolations, as J.R.R. Tolkien says in his essay â€Å"On Fairy Stories,† â€Å"I would venture to assert that all complete fairy-stories must have [the Consolation of the Happy Ending]† (â€Å"On Fairy† 85). Throughout the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically â€Å"Leaf by Niggle,† â€Å"Farmer Giles of Ham,† and The Hobbit, both desolations, and the restoration of them are central motifs. â€Å"Leaf by Niggle† is short story, written by Tolkien, about a painter who is obsessed with completing his enormous painting of a tree, titled â€Å"Leaf†. His main world is his home and his painting. Before he can finish his painting though he is sent to a Workhouse. The Workhouse in this story is the desolation. For the majority of his time there he is sick and in the infirmary. The sickness in a way is another form of desolation. It is a figurative desolation where his physical health is damaged. At the workhouse â€Å"poor Niggle got no pleasure out of life† which is one of the clear signs that this is a desolation (â€Å"Leaf† 109). The desolations work in a contrast to both the places of good magic and the home that the character, in this case Niggle, is used to.Show MoreRelatedThe Faerie Queene1444 Words   |  6 PagesUna, the True Church The Faerie Queene is an important romantic epic that more than being just poetry, represents the protestant imagery in terms of kinds of individual virtue , the forces of temptation and human weaknesses to which the greatest of persons can succumb and, of course, the humanist ideals of its time. 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