The Fellowship of the Ring; Isolation, Community, and the path toward Humanity

Avalon Mentors

This episode is a discussion of Tolkien's first book in the Lord of the Rings series.

The episode gives a history of the text and introduces the literary concepts of The FOUR-FOLD METHOD OF EXEGESIS by Dante Alighieri & NATURAL & CONVENTIONAL SYMBOLISM. We also discuss further the nature of dragons & of the confrontation with nothingness. A brief reading period results in observations from participants leading finally into a discussion of The One Ring.

FOUR-FOLD METHOD OF EXEGESIS

Outlined by Dante Alighieri in his Letter to Cangrande the 4 levels trace their roots back to Jewish interpretation and perhaps further. Though they are normally done by a reader intuitively and automatically, it is helpful to interpret consciously using the method.

For me be able to present what I am going to say, you must know that the sense of this work is not simple, rather it may be called polysemantic, that is, of many senses; the first sense is that which comes from the letter, the second is that of that which is signified by the letter. And the first is called the literal, the second allegorical or moral or anagogical.

The levels consist of

1. Literal level

a. What do the words (litera) mean in the work?

2. Allegorical level 1 (Allegorical)

a. How do the images connect to other images in the text?

b. How do the images connect or make reference to images in other works?

3. Allegorical level 2 (Tropological / Moral)

a. What do the images mean for the human race?

b. What is the moral of the story? (i.e. “it is not good for men to be alone”)

4. Allegorical level 3 (Anagogical)

a. What do the images mean to me personally? (i.e. “this means X for the human race; I am a member of the human race; what does this mean in my life?”)

NATURAL & CONVENTIONAL SYMBOLISM

Natural Symbolism – greater of the two; symbol by its nature embodies that which it seeks to convey; symbol and meaning are inseparable and universal for all mankind.

i.e. water; darkness; the color red; the forest (primeval)

Conventional Symbolism – lesser of the two; symbol is agreed upon by a culture to represent something else; symbol and meaning are not intuitively connected; knowledge of culture is necessary to understand the symbol

i.e. A STOP sign; the letters that make up the word “STOP”; the edict against eating pork; a phrase such as “Talitha cumi” (Mark 5:41)

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