Context and Tradition: Published in 1954, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is a work of fiction written during the modern literary period. Historically, many things were going on during the time it was published, such as the Korean War, beginning in 1950. Other notable events during this decade include the beginning of the civil rights movement in 1954, when segregation was ruled illegal in the United States, and the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik I by the Russians in 1957. An artistic work that The Fellowship of the Ring reminds me of is The Game of Thrones, a high fantasy novel by George R.R. Martin. Both worlds are filled with magical creatures, and concern themselves with an alternate world heavily reliant on magic, as both universes do not have access to the technology available in the real world.
Composition: Some of my favorite lines appear early in the book, when Gandalf is discussing the origins of the One Ring with Frodo. The first is, “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends” (Tolkien 58) This quote opens with an interjection from Gandalf, and is soon followed by parallelism as the phrases, “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life.” have basically identical grammatical structures: a pronoun, followed by a conjunction, two verbs, and a noun. Another favorite line of mine is from a letter Gandalf wrote to Frodo, a letter of advice should Gandalf not return on the journey with him:
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
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...ated to the shadows, where no one would be.
But one fateful day, a little Hobbit came his way:
Bilbo Baggins was his name.
The two met, and made a little bet.
They went on with their game,
To which Bilbo prevailed, and soon he bailed;
Not alone, I dare say,
But with the Ring, that dangerous little thing.
He slipped it on to escape a deadly fate.
Unknowingly giving in, to the power within
After the defeat of Smaug, many treasures he gained
But none were king, to his precious ring
Many years passed, and close he grew to his ring
Reluctant to release it, he wanted to keep it
But he let it go, abandoning the wretched thing
Upon Frodo it landed, whose power he could never imagine.
Determined to destroy the One True Ring
Set off on a quest, that would certainly put him to the test
The mountain of Orodruin seemed so far away.
But for Frodo, nothing could keep him at bay.
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.
Both poems use repetition of phrases and anaphora to establish a pace for the speaker’s voice. The repeating syllables provide a pseudo-break in
The Frodo Franchise is an academic book written by the film scholar Kristin Thompson about the Lord of the Rings (shortened to Rings) films. Early on, Thompson states that she wrote this book for three reasons. The first reason was her love for Tolkien’s work. The second reason was because the Rings had one of the most historically significant impacts on modern day movies. The third reason was because Thompson went to New Zealand while the film was in production. This resulted in Thompson being in the best position to write a book on how the films were made (Thompson 7-12). In her book, Thompson goes into great detail to explain to readers why the Rings trilogy is so historically significant. After reading the first couple of chapters of the book, Thompson convinced me that her claim was correct. I agree with Thompson when she states that “like a great rock falling into a lake, the ripples that is caused spread far, and they will continue to do so for years to come (Thompson 2)
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Douglas A. Anderson. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
Krivak, Andrew. "Author of 'The Rings': Tolkien's Catholic Journey." Commonweal 130.22 (19 Dec. 2003): 10-13. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Dana Ferguson. Vol. 152. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
In the novel, The Hobbit, we find many themes and underlying messages from which useful knowledge and principles can be acquired. As the modern canadian fantasy writer once said, “Fantasy has the capacity to be as important and as thought-provoking as any other form of literature we have.” Tolkien’s work provides readers with challenging and time honoured themes such as: use your unique positive traits for the greater good of the group, power should never be abused and it is important to find your true self in life.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: Part One The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954.
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings strikes a cord with almost everyone who reads it. Its popularity has not waned with the passing of time, nor is its appeal centered on one age group or generation. Book sales would indicate that The Lord of the Rings is at least as popular now as it ever was, if not more so. Some estimates put it at the second highest selling work of all time, following only the bible.
Kim, Sue. “BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND POSTMODERNISM IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS.” Modern Fiction Studies 50.4 (2004): 875-907. Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.
result it has on people. In all three poems the last line of the poems
J.R.R. Tolkien was able to successfully capture the essence of Anglo-Saxon literature throughout The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. Though he wrote these books decades later, Tolkien used his knowledge and interest of Anglo-Saxon times to create this mythical, dark, and adventurous tale. Tolkien showed many themes of which were often seen in books written during the Anglo-Saxon time period (450 A.D. – 1066 A.D.) He drew much of his inspiration from the epic poem Beowulf, which is seen all throughout The Lord of The Rings. This book is known as the greatest prime example of literature from that time period. He used similar Anglo-Saxon themes such as Good versus Evil, Christianity versus Paganism, and lastly, the idea of courage and loyalty. Tolkien, fascinated by Anglo-Saxon literature, used similar context, themes, and ideas to create a parallel between Beowulf and The Lord of The Rings.
One example of this is in Falstaff’s use of prose instead of rhyming iambic pentameter. When Falstaff speaks it resembles the way a commoner would speak, he uses small words in short sentences without the formal poetic style of King Henry. In his honor speech Falstaff conveys his message in choppy, conversational style, with no word longer than four syllables (“catechism”), and no sentence longer than eight words (“Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on?”) (Shakespeare 101). When King Henry speaks it is in iambic pentameter, he uses larger words, and more lofty subject matter. This divergence in speech style helps intensify the rhetorical divide between these two men, and remind the reader of their juxtapositional traits in the play.
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
The Fellowship of the Ring takes place in the Second Age in the fantasy world of Middle Earth, after Dark Lord Sauron forged multiple corrupting rings as gifts to the rulers of Middle Earth. The central focus of the film, the One Ring, was forged by Sauron in addition to the other rings as a means to control the ring bearers in a plot to conquer all of Middle Earth. The One Ring was lost during a war between Sauron’s Orc
Wood, Ralph C. "Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Rings." The Century Feb. 97: 208(4).