Editing Leaf by Niggle (section)

==== Of the journey of death ====

The Tolkien scholar and fellow-[[philologist]] [[Tom Shippey]] states categorically that the story is "quite certainly" an allegory, and that its first words recall "to any Anglo-Saxonist" the opening lines of the [[Old Northumbrian]] poem ''[[Bede's Death Song]]''. Those lines, he states, equate death to a journey, hinting to the reader to continue making such "equations" of things in the world to elements of the story; and further, that the reader of the story is meant to interpret the story in this way, every tiny detail exactly and entertainingly fitting the pattern.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=49–50}}

[[File:Henry Holiday - Dante meets Beatrice.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"Leaf by Niggle" matches the structure of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Purgatorio]]'', and fits Dante's [[romantic theology]]. Here, Dante looks longingly at [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]] (centre) as she strolls by the [[River Arno]]. ''[[Dante and Beatrice (painting)|Dante and Beatrice]]'', by [[Henry Holiday]], 1883]]

A religious reading could lead to the conclusion that the allegory of "Leaf by Niggle" is life, death, [[purgatory]] and [[paradise]]. Niggle is not prepared for his unavoidable trip, as humans often are not prepared for death. His time in the institution and subsequent discovery of his Tree represent purgatory and [[heaven]]; Sebastian Knowles writes that the story "follows [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s '[[Purgatorio]]' in its general structure and in its smallest detail."<ref>{{cite book |last=Knowles |first=Sebastian D. G. |title=A Purgatorial Flame: Seven British Writers in the Second World War |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |year=1990 |pages=140–141}}<!--cited in {{cite book |first=Perry C. |last=Bramlett |title=I Am in Fact a Hobbit |publisher=[[Mercer University Press]] |year=2003}}--></ref>

Michael Milburn argues that [[Charles Williams (British writer)|Charles Williams]]'s view of Dante as [[romantic theology]] – which Milburn glosses as the serious theology of romantic experiences, including romantic love – can be applied to Tolkien's story. Dante, he writes, has a "glorious vision" of [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]] that is "as real" as the actual Beatrice.<ref name="Milburn 2011"/> She dies, leaving Dante with the inspiration to "''be'' love", to stay faithful to his vision of her. This can be applied to art with "a source text that not only takes art for its subject but locates the vision of great art in the afterlife with Beatrice, includes an experience analogous to the death of Beatrice, and explores the relationship between artistic beauty and ''caritas''.<ref name="Milburn 2011"/> Milburn states that Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" is just such a text, because Niggle's allegorical "journey" signifies death, the "Workhouse" signifies purgatory, and the place Niggle reaches after that is the [[Earthly Paradise]], the place for Tolkien as for Dante of final purification before heaven, Niggle's "mountains".<ref name="Milburn 2011"/> Tolkien had met Williams, as they were both members of [[the Inklings]] literary group. Further, Milburn notes, Tolkien, despite denying that Williams had been an influence, wrote a poem about him, in which he praises William's understanding of Dante, his romantic theology: "But heavenly footsteps, too, can Williams trace, / and after Dante, plunging, soaring, race / up to the threshold of Eternal Grace".<ref name="Milburn 2011">{{cite journal |last=Milburn |first=Michael |year=2011 |title=Art According to Romantic Theology: Charles Williams's Analysis of Dante Reapplied to J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Leaf by Niggle' |journal=[[Mythlore]] |volume=29 |issue=3 |at=Article 6 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol29/iss3/6}}</ref>