"On Fairy-Stories" is a 1947 essay by J. R. R. Tolkien which discusses the fairy story as a literary form. It was … See more

J. R. R. Tolkien was a professional philologist and an author of fantasy fiction, starting with the children's book The Hobbit in 1937. The Andrew Lang Lecture was important as it brought him to clarify his view of fair… See more

Tolkien created the material as a lecture entitled "Fairy Stories"; he delivered it as the Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, on 8 March 1939.
"On Fairy-Stories" first appeared in print, with some … See more

The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger states that "On Fairy-Stories" would be at the centre of Tolkien research simply because it is Tolkien's own explanation of his art, of the "sub-creation" (in his terminology) of a secondary … See more

In his essay, Tolkien cites a wide variety of fiction, mythology, and academic works. The fiction and mythology include:
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (1595 or 1596)
• Aesop's Fables (620–564 … See more

• Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (2023) [1981]. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4. See more