Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons^™

J.R.R. Tolkien's "Leaf By Niggle": An Allegory In Transformation, Marie Nelson

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Nelson demonstrates that Tolkien’s allegorical short story, “Leaf by Niggle,” owes a debt to the medieval play Everyman as its primary spiritual ancestor, and discusses changes Tolkien makes to its message in the light of concepts he developed in “On Fairy-stories,” along the way touching on the differences between works meant for performance and silent reading.