Letter 32

Letter 32 is the thirty-second letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary
M asefield welcomed Tolkien to imitate Chaucer in Oxford's 1938Summer Diversions to present the Nun's Priest's Tale. With the welcome were a few lines of verse with which Masefield proposed to present Tolkien. Tolkien acknowledged and said he had no complaint as an entertainer to Masefield's presentation. Be that as it may, as an understudy of Chaucer, he did have a few complaints: The lines proposed that Chaucer was the first English artist, and all before was moronic and brutal; this was misdirecting, Tolkien affirmed, in light of the fact that in England's 1200 years of scholarly convention Chaucer stands in the center. Tolkien likewise felt that Chaucer was pre-winter as opposed to springlike and more working class than kinglike.

Concerning the execution, Tolkien had second thoughts about utilizing an apparently 14th century elocution, which may not be adequately clear. He thought an adjusted advanced articulation evading oldness would be best, as Masefield once employed again.