What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1939 lecture about the nature of fantasy?
Answer
On Fairy-Stories
J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1939 lecture about the nature of fantasy was titled On Fairy-Stories.
Tolkien delivered the lecture as the Andrew Lang Lecture at the University of St Andrews in Scotland on 8 March 1939. It was later revised and published in essay form. In it, Tolkien explains what he meant by a fairy-story and considers why imaginative tales matter to readers.
The essay is especially known for Tolkien’s discussion of recovery, escape, and consolation. He argued that fantasy can help readers see ordinary things freshly, distinguish genuine escape from mere evasion, and experience hope through the eucatastrophic turn: a sudden joyful change in a story.
On Fairy-Stories is sometimes confused with Leaf by Niggle, a separate short story, or with A Secret Vice, Tolkien’s discussion of invented languages. It is also not a plot summary of The Hobbit. The work is a foundational statement of Tolkien’s ideas about fantasy and myth.