The Worm Ouroboros

The Worm Ouroboros (1922) is a heroic high fantasy novel by Eric Rucker Eddison. It was originally published in London by Jonathan Cape and saw a major paperback reprint from Ballantine Books in the 1960s following the success of The Lord of the Rings. There has been a recent UK paperback edition in the Fantasy Masterworks series. A paperback edition was reissued in Bridgewater, New Jersey, by Replica Books in 1999 with ISBN 073510171X.

Related Topics:
Hero - High fantasy - Novel - Eric Rucker Eddison - London - Jonathan Cape - Paperback - Ballantine Books - 1960s - The Lord of the Rings - Fantasy Masterworks - 1999

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The book describes the protracted war between the domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland in an imaginary world that appears mainly medieval and partly reminiscent of Norse sagas. A half-finished framing story describes this world as Mercury, though it is clearly a fantasy version of Earth, a "secondary-world." At a number of points the characters refer to their land as Middle earth, used here in its original sense of "the known world," and the gods worshipped have the names of deities from Greek mythology. The framing device disappears after the second chapter, and Eddison never refers to it again.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Norse saga - Mercury - Middle earth - Greek mythology

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an early and ambitious high fantasy, it invites comparison with

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (which it predates).

Related Topics:
J. R. R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Whereas Tolkien invented a backdrop of cultures, histories and languages,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

in The Worm Ouroboros it is the prose style that is central. It is arguably one of the more convincing examples of mock-archaic high diction; as a translator of old Norse sagas and a connoisseur of of medieval and Renaissance poetry, Eddison had the required scholarship.

Related Topics:
Archaic - Diction - Medieval - Renaissance

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Eddison relishes exotic personal and place names, he seems to have given little thought to plausible etymology and consistency, unlike Tolkien's layers of invented languages. On the other hand, Tolkien's prose style may seem pedestrian in comparison to Eddison's, although Eddison seems far less accessible to modern readers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The morality of the tale sharply contrasts with Tolkien's heroism of the common man in a fight against evil and C. S. Lewis's Christian allegory. The protagonists, the four Lords of Demonland, are notable for their loyalty and their sense of fair play. Nonetheless, theirs is chiefly a warrior ethic of seeking glory in battle (and bragging about it in frequent and resonant speeches). Their antagonists are, for the most part, noble and worthy opponents even if their methods are less fair. As a further complication, the most complex and sympathetic character, Lord Gro, is a serial traitor, who is however motivated by an entirely unselfish, aesthetic sense of the nobility of failure and the inevitability of decay. One can arguably detect echoes of Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra in this worldview.

Related Topics:
Evil - C. S. Lewis - Christian - Allegory - Aesthetic - Nobility of failure - Nietzsche - Also sprach Zarathustra

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The title of the book refers to Ouroboros, the snake or dragon that swallows its own tail. The novel starts with an ambassador from Witchland arriving to treat with the Demon lords. It ends with the Demons triumphant, but mourning because there are no more enemies worthy of their heroism, no more great deeds to perform. The Demon Lord Juss begs Queen Sophonisba, the Fosterling of the Gods, for "youth for ever, and war; and unwaning strength and skill in arms ... our great enemies alive and whole again". With a blare of trumpets, an ambassador from Witchland arrives, "craving present audience", and the story starts over again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~