On Fairy-Stories

Tolkien structures his essay around three questions, presented in the introductory paragraphs: “What are fairy-stories? What is their origin? What is the use of them?” (109). First, Tolkien uses ethos, or credibility based on expertise, to position himself not as an expert on fairy stories, but rather as an expert in philology. Given Tolkien’s academic expertise in this field, he chooses to rely on textual evidence—referencing other texts and works of art—and metaphor—giving one element the characteristics of another through word choice—as his primary rhetorical devices.

Tolkien begins his definition of fairy-story through counter-example, or, by asserting what fairy-stories are not. He claims that many believe fairy-stories to simply be stories about fairies for two reasons: although works such as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Drayton’s Nymphidia are stories about fairies, Tolkien does not consider them “fairy-stories.” Similarly, he excludes beast fables and traveller’s tales—and several texts—The Monkey’s Heart, The Three Little Pigs, Brer Rabbit, and Gulliver’s Travels . Using these well-known texts as counter-examples, Tolkien immediately begins to share his definition of “fairy-story” with his audience, as its own genre with particular hallmark themes and tropes. It is important that the audience, or reader, is clear on this point in order for them to consider Tolkien’s argument within the correct frame of reference.