"On Fairy-Stories" is a brilliant essay skillfully defining and explicating the nature of fairy-stories, which are and should be considered a unique and valuable literary genre. First given as the speech for the annual Andrew Lang lecture at the University of St. Andrews in 1939, "On Fairy-Stories" is at least partly reactionary, using such personages as Andrew Lang, the Brothers Grimm, and Lewis Carroll as intellectual interlocutors. Throughout time, the term "fairy tale" has meant many different things, and not all of them warranted, according to Tolkien; in this essay, then, he has set out to distinguish what truly makes a "fairy-story," evaluating his predecessors in light of his new definitions.
A major element of Tolkien's theory of fairy-stories is the concept of Faërie, that "perilous realm" of the imagination that resembles more a quality than a location. The idea of Faërie is one of the predominant ones in Tolkien's worldview, and it is the most important element in a fairy-story. It is, however, impossible to define; as Tolkien writes, it's "indescribable, but not imperceptible." Faërie is the sort of land that cannot be "caught up in a net of words;" it is, nevertheless, recognizable, and when a reader is transported there, he has discovered a truly effective fairy-story. Tolkien's descriptions of Faërie, while not direct, are nonetheless beautiful: "The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords. In that realm a man may, perhaps, count himself fortunate to have wandered, but its very richness and strangeness tie the tongue of a traveler who would report them. And while he is there it is dangerous for him to ask too many questions, lest the gates should be shut and the keys be lost."
Fairy-stories also have a deep connection to Fantasy, which Tolkien views as the highest and purest form of art. Since God is essentially creative, and he fashioned the world through an act of creation, humans (being made in his image) are also essentially creative. Through acts of creation, humans exercise their abilities and participate in the divine nature, rearranging and organizing raw materials created by God, making such actions "Sub-creation." Fantasy includes the creation of a complete and internally consistent "Secondary World," making it the purest form of creation.
Tolkien's own work reflects these ideas; it is perhaps unexpected that he considers The Lord of the Rings to be a 'fairy-story,' but after reading this essay, it becomes far more reasonable. The epic fantasy novel fits all of the qualifications for fairy-stories: it contains a complete, believable, and internally consistent Secondary World; it has a crucial moment of eucatastrophe when the ring falls into Mount Doom and the world is rejuvenated, evil crumbling in a single moment of glorious triumph; and it transports the reader into Faërie - despite vague definitions, the reader certainly experiences this phenomenon, although he is unable to describe it.
In all, "On Fairy-Stories" is a valuable piece of writing that serves to clarify and inspire those interested in fantasy and fairy tales, proving once and for all that the imagination should not cease to be exercised once a person leaves childhood.
