Editing Smith of Wootton Major (section)

=== Allegory ===

{{further|Leaf by Niggle#Allegory}}

The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] writes that "defeat hangs heavy" in the story,{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=315 "On the Cold Hill's Side"}} while Tolkien called it "an old man's book", with presage of bereavement.<ref group="T">{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=Letter 299 to [[Roger Lancelyn Green]], 12 December 1967 }}</ref> Shippey adds that when Tolkien presents images of himself in his writings, as with Niggle, the anti-hero of "[[Leaf by Niggle]]" and Smith, there is "a persistent streak of alienation".<ref name="Shippey 2004">{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |chapter=Tolkien and the Appeal of the Pagan: Edda and Kalevala |editor-last=Chance |editor-first=Jane |editor-link=Jane Chance |title=Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader |title-link=Tolkien and the Invention of Myth |year=2004 |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |isbn=0-8131-2301-1 |pages=163–178}}</ref> While Tolkien had stated that the story was "not '[[allegory]]'", he had immediately added "though it is capable of course of allegorical interpretation at certain points".{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=309–319 "On the Cold Hill's Side"}} Shippey presents evidence in support of the claim.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=309–319 "On the Cold Hill's Side"}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ [[Tom Shippey]]'s analysis of "Smith of Wootton Major" as an [[allegory]]{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=309–319 "On the Cold Hill's Side"}}
|-
! Story element !! Allegorical meaning !! Evidence
|-
| Nokes || Unsympathetic literary critic (as opposed to [[philologist]]s like Tolkien) || [[Noke, Oxfordshire]], from [[Middle English]] *''atten okes'' (at the oaks);<br/>Nokes's family all with nunnated names, Nell, Nan, Ned for Ell[en], Ann, Ed[ward];<br/>Tolkien had arranged teaching at the [[University of Leeds]] into [[Bagme Bloma#Analysis|an A-scheme (literature) and a B-scheme (philology)]];<br/>for Tolkien, A meant [[Old English]] ''ac'' ([[oak]]), B meant ''beorc'' ([[birch]])
|-
| Nokes's Great Cake || Literary study, offering "not much food for the imagination" || "no bigger than was needed ... nothing left over" 
|-
| "Old books of recipes left behind by previous cooks" || Old philology || 
|-
| Old Cook || Philologist || 
|-
| The fay-star || "Vision, receptiveness to fantasy, [[Mythopoeia|mythopoeic]] power" || 
|- 
| Smith || Tolkien himself || Smith "never bakes a Great Cake"; Tolkien "never produced a major full-length work on medieval literature"
|-
| Alf || [[Elf]], reassuring guide to Faërie || Old English ''ælf'' (elf); Alf is eventually revealed as King of Faërie
|-
| Wootton Major || The "wood of the world" where people wander "bewildered" || Old English ''wudu-tún'' ("town in the wood")
|}