Certainly, at this point an introduction is not needed; however, I will give one, if anything but to satisfy my conscious bias.
John
Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was an accomplished scholar of the English
language and critically acclaimed author of The Hobbit (1937) and The
Lord the Rings (1954). While Tolkien did have his
successes in the academic realm of literature such as his lecture “Beowulf, the
Monsters and the Critics”, the more renowned side of his career (and much
cooler in my opinion) were his above-mentioned book and trilogy. His works have
inspired countless ideas across the realm of fantasy storytelling and have
gained high praise from fans around the world and across generations.
Having studied and later taught at Oxford University one could say that
Tolkien quite literally breathed ink and paper rather than air. Even from early
childhood, Tolkien expressed a love for language, having mastered both Greek
and Latin whilst creating his own languages for fun. He kept this fascination
for language his whole life, learning 35 different languages and featuring many
of his own created ones in Middle Earth. It was said that Tolkien created
Middle Earth around his languages, so they had people to speak
them.
Now, as for whether Tolkien is a big C or little C, I would have to say
that he is unquestionably a big C. The main reason for this is that Tolkien
revolutionized the way fantasy storytelling is done and continues to do so
until this day. Very few works of fiction have the depth and world building
that Tolkien has curated and put into Middle Earth. Not only has he created own
individual languages for the elves, orcs, and dwarves but he has also created
centuries upon centuries of lore and history for Middle Earth. His book
The Silmarillion is a collection of stories spanning Middle Earth's
history that delves into great detail about its people (stories not including
what is already told in The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings). To borrow from C. S. Lewis, it is as if Tolkien stepped
through a wardrobe and found himself in a world waiting to have its story and
history chronicled for all to see.
Second Lieutenant Tolkien (WWI)
As for where all this creativity came from, two sources have been found. The first is that Tolkien surrounded himself with colleagues of similar nature such as Messrs Coghill, Charles Williams and C. S. Lewis (one of his best friends). This group of fellow scholars acted as Tolkien’s early critics as they often shared literature and created an environment for which creativity could thrive. Ideas would have been bounced back and forth, allowing for one’s own failures to fuel their next iteration of creative writing. The second source is from Tolkien’s own life. Having served in the first World War and later writing The Hobbit at the beginning of the second, it is easy to see that real life themes bled into his writing. The theme of good vs evil is most apparent. In real life, it was the allied powers fighting injustice and corruption across Europe, stopping the axis. In Middle Earth, it was the unification of the free peoples (Dwarves, Elves and Men) to stop the spread of Sauron’s darkness. Even Tolkien’s own love life took the form of creative inspiration in his “Legendarium”. In this tale he writes of two elf lovers, Lúthien and Beren who are the fictional versions of himself and his wife Edith. Their respective elf names are even inscribed on their gravestones where they are buried together.
In conclusion, Tolkien devoted his entire life into creating a
fantastical world that is as believable as the one we currently reside. It is
as if Tolkien wanted to create something that was so real that if his books
were picked up by a future human that they would have to think twice about
which world is the real one, Earth or Middle Earth.
sources:
https://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/
https://www.dw.com/en/how-j-r-r-tolkien-became-the-father-of-fantasy/a-60316037
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/31/books-bcst-question-tolkien-languages
(I had a problem with the editor so sorry for the white background)
I can really sense your passion about Tolkien's work through your writing! I myself am also a huge fan of the fantastic world he created. The Hobbit is in my top three favorite books of all time. The very end of your post stood out to me the most. I agree with you when you discuss the fact that Tolkien's writing really is suggestive of the idea that Middle Earth is as real to him as our Earth is to the rest of us. He recounts the historical events of Middle Earth as though they are widely known and accounted for. It's truly fascinating to me how one person can create such an immense, unique world all in their own brain. I really enjoyed reading this post.
ReplyDeleteI have a love of fantasy worlds as well, and Tolkien's is by far some of the most immersive to experience, you really do feel like you're there. I knew that he created his own languages, which is an impressive feat in its own right, but I also think it's interesting in your post that you mentioned he created his world so that he could have people to speak the languages. The way you described Tolkien's work is similar to how it's experienced like you are in the world with him, and he is describing it to you. I also appreciate the Chronicles of Narnia reference.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love Tolkien's work, so I was super excited to see someone writing about him! I knew that he invented languages for the different creatures in his works, but I didn't know that he had mastered other languages. I think that this could be an example of either analogy or collecting, because he amassed knowledge (collecting) and thought of different ways to apply it in stories (which could be an analogy?). I also was really excited to find out that he knew C.S. Lewis, and I think it would be interesting to examine how the were affected by each others' work.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series! I knew Tolkien was well versed in languages, but I had no idea he knew 35 languages. I enjoyed reading his background and how it shows through his work. I also play Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, and his work has influenced both of those IPs. One detail that I thought was cool was how he served in the first world war and these experiences "bled into his writing." I love learning cool little facts that make me go "oh, so that's why this thing is the way it is." Awesome blog post!
ReplyDeleteI am a proud to say that the Lord of the Rings: Two Towers was the first book I ever stayed up all night to read! Tolkein's use of imagery and his ability to create mountains of Lore are unmatched in all of history. Truly one of the greatest authors of his time!
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