W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring

Re:W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring by morelisp on Sunday August 20, 2023 @05:25AM (#37197524)

I don't think you can criticize "deus ex machina" as a plot device when it's, from go, literally "ex deus" - Gandalf is on a mission (/ missions) from god, and Eru's not gonna let him get off so easily.

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Re:W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring by Ntrails on Sunday August 20, 2023 @06:15AM (#37197744)

It's arguable whether you want to describe the wizards as 'Mortal' in the first place.

The return of Gandalf never much bothered me, it fit well enough.

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Re:W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring by croes on Sunday August 20, 2023 @08:05AM (#37198331)

Just because it's literally ex deus doesn't make it less ex deus.

Ex deus is cheap

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Re:W. H. Auden’s 1954 review of The Fellowship of the Ring by morelisp on Sunday August 20, 2023 @08:23AM (#37198433)

The more critical part is "from go" - deus ex machina is considered bad because it's a narrative rupture. In a story of wars openly involving divine beings, there's no such discontinuity. It is also usually associated with stories that wrap up a bit too tidily, and that's also not the case in LotR.

Gandalf dies 2/6 of the way through the story and comes back 3/6 of the way through. His death may be the climax of the first two books, but his return is merely a plot beat and many of the remaining problems have yet to even be revealed, let alone solved.

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