What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s academic lecture that became a major essay on fantasy?
Answer
On Fairy-Stories
J.R.R. Tolkien’s lecture and essay on fantasy is titled On Fairy-Stories.
Tolkien originally delivered the lecture as the Andrew Lang Lecture at the University of St Andrews in 1938. He later revised it into an essay, which became one of his most influential statements about fairy stories, imagination, and literary creation.
In the essay, Tolkien argues that fairy stories are not merely childish entertainment. He discusses the functions of fantasy, recovery, escape, and consolation, and he explains how invented worlds can illuminate aspects of the real world rather than simply replacing it.
On Fairy-Stories is often read alongside Tolkien’s fiction because it clarifies ideas visible in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is also frequently connected with his concept of “sub-creation,” the making of a secondary world with its own consistent reality.