Nature plays an important and powerful role in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Often, it is used to Shakespearean effects, in order to foreshadow doom. At other times, descriptions of the “green earth,” in particular, are used to render Middle-Earth into an almost maternal, life-giving persona. One could argue that these descriptions of “green earth” take on a life of their own, treating place as character. After all, places in Lord of the Rings often possess multi-dimensional qualities and are capable of change. In Aragon’s words, the “green earth” is “a mighty matter of legend” (The Two Towers 424). “Mighty” is not always the most appropriate word for places or objects, except when they hold power—perhaps even autonomously so. For example, …show more content…
It exemplifies another way in Lord of the Rings in which nature is not only suggestive of troubles to come, but perhaps plays an active role in it. Just as “the green earth” takes on characteristics reflective of autonomous life, so too do shadows and darkness in regards to death. They have a way to propel action, and so after hearing this prophecy, the Smiths of Eregion remove the Rings from their fingers. They are affected by nature just like Frodo. “Roads Go ever on” are the names of Bilbo’s walking songs or poems, and these bring about a sense of lightness and mirth that are in direct contrast to the properties of nature’s shadows and darkness. In these songs, nature tends to reclaim the land. Though one may have a tendency to be overwrought with the doom and gloom that comes from the literally darkest moments of Lord of the Rings, instead of dwelling on the “horror in the halls of stone
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson, all of middle-earth goes through a transformation. Each culture is affected including: the elves, the dwarves, the wizards, the men, and the hobbits. There is no escape from adversity which everyone is faced with. Some were transformed meanwhile others were destroyed. Frodo Baggins is faced with adversity when: Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo Baggins, leaves behind the ring, when Bilbo runs away, and when Frodo volunteers to be the ring-bearer. Many obstacles arise throughout the movie. In this essay I will discuss the ideas created by the text creator regarding the role adversity plays in shaping an individual’s identity. To show this I will be using the hobbit Frodo Baggins.
Frodo’s experiences are universal to humankind. For some, a fight against your own evil that tries to bring you down can relate to both Frodo and the humankind. Facing challenges and tasks that you may not w...
When reflecting and writing on Eiseley’s essay and the “magical element”, I balk. I think to myself, “What magic?”, and then put pen to page. I dubiously choose a kiddie pool to draw inspiration from, and unexpectedly, inspiration flows into me. As I sit here in this little 10x30 foot backyard, the sky is filled with the flowing gaseous form of water, dark patches of moist earth speckle the yard, the plants soak up their scattered watering, and the leaves of bushes and trees imbue the space with a sense of dampness from their foliage. As my senses tune into the moisture that surrounds me, I fill Braedon’s artificial pond with water. I stare at the shimmering surface, contemplating Eiseley’s narrative, and the little bit of life’s wellspring caught in Brae’s pool. I see why Eiseley thought the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface is mystical.
Many of the readings that we have studied in class have discussed the idea of human beings and our relationships with nature. The different authors we’ve studied and the works we’ve analyzed share different views of this relationship – a very interesting aspect to study. Human relationships with nature are truly timeless – nature can have the same effects on humans now as it did millions of years ago. Two of the works in particular which offered differing views on this relationship were “Entrance to the Woods” by Wendell Berry and “The Invented Landscape” by Frederick Turner.
What does the narrator mean when he says that taking the road less traveled by has made all the difference when the roads seem to be the same throughout the poem?
One of the ways Tolkien’s worldview is scene in his writing is in the total freedom of choice each character enjoys. Contrary to the Victorian era’s obsession with depicting good and evil two dimensionally, Tolkien imbues his characters with three-dimensional properties, allowing for all of his characters to choose. At a council meeting Elrond states “Nothing is evil in the beginning” (The Fellowship of the Ring 351). This belief is fund...
The poem is composed of four stanzas containing five lines each, these are known as quintains. The rhyme structure is ABAAB which means in each quintain there is only two end rhymes. The rhyme pattern is a bit different from the norm, which is quite similar to the speaker in this poem, who decides his own pathway. Several rhetorical devices can be found in the poem. One of the rhetorical figures used is methaphor. In the beginning of the poem, the narrator states that the color of the woods is yellow, so we can assume that it 's autumn (Verse 1: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood) but the metaphorical meaning behind the poem occurring in the autumn could be that the speaker is embracing this decision in the fall of his life, when he 's starting to grow old. Throughout the whole poem, personification can only be found in 2 verses (Verse 7: And having perhaps the better claim / Verse 8: because it was grassy and wanted wear.) In this case, it seems like the narrator is describing the road as having an opinion and a desire as if the claim was made by the road, and therefore he is giving human characteristics to the roadway. The autumn imagery continues until the end of the poem, when it’s morning (Verse 11: And both that morning equally lay Verse12: In leaves no step had trodden black.) the narrator says that the leaves have recently
“The Road Not Taken” examines the struggles people run into when they come to a place in their life where a life altering decisions has to be made. The man who is described in this poem is traveling when he comes upon “two roads diverged” (1). He then has to choose which path he will take to continue on his journey. After standing at the diversion for a while, he knows he has to make a final decision. One path was worn down and “bent in the undergrowth” (5), so he took the other path, which was described as “perhaps the better claim/ Because it was grassy and wanted wear” (6-7). The man of the poem begins to ponder about a time when he will be telling his story of the path he took. Although we are not sure if the man regrets his decision or is relieved, he lets us know taking the road less traveled “has made all the difference” (20).
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is a symbolic poem of the complications people must face in the course of their lives. Although it is not difficult to understand the meaning of the poem through it’s title, it is however hard to interpret what the author means when he describes the roads. Throughout the poem, the two roads appear similar at times and different at others. He uses free imagery to make his poem more complex for the audience.
Above all, 'The Road Not Taken'; can truly be interpreted through much symbolism as a clear-sighted representation of two fair choices. The two roads in the poem, although, 'diverging,'; lead in different directions. At the beginning they appear to be somewhat similar, but is apparent that miles away they will grow farther and farther away from each other. Similar to many choices faced in life. It is impossible to foresee the consequences of most major decisions we make and it is often necessary to make these decisions based on a little more than examining which choice 'wanted wear.'; In
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. The film is an adaptation of a volume of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien published in 1954. This is the first film of Peter Jackson’s trilogy that adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s entire Lord of the Rings series into screenplay.
Murray, Roxane Farrell. "The Lord of the Rings as Myth." Unpublished thesis. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1974.
Robert Frost is an iconic poet. One of his most well-known poem is titled “The Road Not Taken”. This poem is about the narrator monologue about his travels and choices he faced. It opens up with the view with a fork in the road where two roads take different routes. The narrator must choose which road he will take. The narrator describes his setting vividly of the woods that he is traveling in and the choices he must make, such as “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, / I doubted if I should ever come back.” (14-15). The roads are not only literal choices, but also figurative choices. As they represent all life choices one must make in their lifetime. Frost uses multiple elements within his poem to bring the meaning of it to the reader’s attention. This poem is a metaphor for the choices people must make in their lives and how those choices impact their lives forever.