Which Tolkien essay argues that fairy-stories are not merely children’s literature?
Answer
On Fairy-Stories
“On Fairy-Stories” is the Tolkien essay that argues fairy-stories are not merely children’s literature.
Tolkien developed the essay from a lecture delivered at the University of St Andrews in 1938. It was later published in 1947 in Essays Presented to Charles Williams. The work explains Tolkien’s views on fantasy, imagination, recovery, escape, and consolation.
A central idea is that fairy-stories can provide serious artistic and intellectual value for adults as well as children. Tolkien also discusses the “eucatastrophe,” his term for a sudden turn from apparent disaster to joy. Readers often connect these ideas to The Lord of the Rings, but the essay is a work of literary criticism rather than a Middle-earth narrative.