J. R. R. Tolkien, Farmer Giles of Ham

Graeme Davis (University of Buckingham)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1937

Places

United Kingdom (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

Farmer Giles of Ham is best regarded a comic story written to resemble an English early mediaeval chronicle. It combines elements of a children’s story with a series of high-brow academic allusions to create a narrative which defies easy classification. At less than 17,000 words, this is a short story which may be read in one sitting. Perhaps its brevity and use of illustrations have promoted its characterisation as a children’s story, as also happened with The Hobbit, yet children appear not to be J.R.R. Tolkien’s intended audience for the published version. Instead, the lexical density and philological puns suggest that Tolkien had adult readers in mind. While the story is one which can be …

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2484 words

Citation: Davis, Graeme. "Farmer Giles of Ham". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 April 2019 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21929, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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