Jun 30, · [Ed. note: This essay contains discussion of homophobia and mention of suicide.] I was 12 in , when The Return of the King was in 1 day ago · Tolkien essay on fairy stories pdf from Mason, Short essay on pollution in simple english essays about raisin in the sun, thought pollution root cause of all ills essay in words in hindi! Essay on a summer night essay on Tolkien stories fairy pdf. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (called Ronald for short; b. January 3, in South Africa – died September 2, in England) is best known as the author of The Hobbit and its sequel The Lord of the Rings. Among many academic positions, he was professor of Anglo-Saxon language at the University of Oxford from to , and of English studies (English language and
J. R. R. Tolkien's influences - Wikipedia
Tolkien 's fantasy books on Middle-earthespecially The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarilliondrew on a wide array of influences including language, Christianitytolkien essay, mythologyarchaeologyancient and modern literature, and personal experience. He was inspired primarily by his profession, philology ; his work centred on the study of Tolkien essay English literature, especially Beowulfand he acknowledged its importance to his tolkien essay. He was a gifted linguist, influenced by Germanic, Celtic, Finnish, Slavic, and Greek language and mythology.
His fiction reflected his Christian beliefs and his early reading of adventure stories and fantasy books. Commentators have attempted to identify many literary and topological antecedents for characters, places and events in Tolkien's writings.
Some writers were certainly important to him, including the Arts and Crafts polymath William Morrisand he undoubtedly made use of some real place-names, such as Bag End, the name of his aunt's home. Tolkien stated that he had been influenced by his childhood experiences of the English countryside of Worcestershire and its urbanisation by the growth of Birminghamand tolkien essay personal experience of fighting in the trenches of the First World War. Tolkien was a professional philologista scholar of comparative and historical linguistics, tolkien essay.
He was especially familiar with Old English and related languages. He remarked to the poet and The New York Times book reviewer Harvey Breit that "I am a philologist and all my work is philological"; he explained to his American publisher Houghton Mifflin that this was meant to imply that his work was "all of a piece, and fundamentally linguistic [sic] in inspiration.
The invention of languages is the foundation. The 'stories' were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse, tolkien essay.
To me a name comes tolkien essay and the story follows. Tolkien was an expert on Old English literaturetolkien essay, especially the epic poem Beowulfand made many uses of it in The Lord of the Rings. For example, Beowulf ' s list of creatures, eotenas ond tolkien essay ond orcn éas" ettens [giants] and elves and demon-corpses", contributed to his creation of some of the races of beings tolkien essay Middle-earth, though with so little information about what elves were like, he was forced to combine scraps from all the Old English sources he could find.
Several Middle-earth concepts may have come from the Old English word Sigelwaraused in the Codex Junius to mean "Aethiopian". He suggested this implied a class of demons "with red-hot eyes that emitted sparks and faces black as soot". Ina 4th-century pagan cult temple was excavated at Lydney ParkGloucestershire. Silvianus has lost a ring and has donated one-half [its worth] to Nodens.
Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens. Shippey thought this "a pivotal influence" on Tolkien's Middle-earth, combining as it did a god-hero, tolkien essay, a ring, dwarves, and a silver hand. Tolkien Encyclopedia notes also the " Hobbit -like appearance of [Dwarf's Hill]'s mine-shaft holes", and that Tolkien was extremely tolkien essay in the hill's folklore on his stay there, citing Helen Armstrong's comment that the place may have inspired Tolkien's "Celebrimbor and the fallen tolkien essay of Moria and Eregion ".
Bowers notes that the name of the Elven-smith Celebrimbor is the Sindarin for "Silver Hand", and that "Because the place was known locally as Dwarf's Hill tolkien essay honeycombed with abandoned mines, it naturally suggested itself as background for the Lonely Mountain and the Mines of Moria. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic. He once described The Lord of the Rings to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.
In addition the epic includes the themes of death and immortality, mercy and pity, resurrection, salvation, repentance, self-sacrifice, tolkien essay, free will, justice, fellowship, authority and healing.
Tolkien mentions the Lord's Prayertolkien essay, especially the line "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" in connection with Frodo's struggles against the power of the One Ring.
The period was pre-Christian, but it was a monotheistic world", and when questioned who was the Tolkien essay God of Middle-earth, Tolkien replied "The one, of course! The book is about the world that God created — the actual world of this planet. The Bible and traditional Christian narrative also influenced The Silmarillion, tolkien essay.
The conflict between Melkor and Eru Ilúvatar parallels that between Satan and God. Tolkien was influenced by Germanic heroic legendespecially its Norse and Old English forms. During his education at King Edward's School in Birmingham, he read and translated from the Old Norse in his free time. While a student, Tolkien read the only available English translation [30] [28] of the Völsunga sagathe rendering by William Morris of the Victorian Arts and Crafts movement and Icelandic scholar Eiríkur Magnússon.
In the Völsunga sagathese items are respectively Andvaranaut and Gramand they correspond broadly to the One Ring and the sword Narsil reforged as Andúril. Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún discusses the saga in relation to the myth of Sigurd and Gudrún. Tolkien was influenced by Old English poetry, especially Beowulf ; Shippey writes that this was "obviously" [36] the work that had most influence upon him. The dragon Smaug in The Hobbit is closely based on the Beowulf dragon, the points of similarity including its ferocity, its greed for gold, flying by night, having a well-guarded hoard, and being of great age.
The Elf Legolas describes Meduseld in a direct translation of line of Beowulf líxte se léoma ofer landa fela"The light of it shines far over the land". Shippey writes that the whole chapter "The King of the Golden Hall" is constructed exactly like the section of the poem where the hero tolkien essay his party approach the King's hall: the visitors are challenged twice; they pile their weapons outside the door; and they hear wise words from the guard, Háma, a man who thinks for himself and takes a risk in making his decision, tolkien essay.
Both societies have a king, and both rule over a free people where, Shippey states, just obeying orders is not enough. The figure of Gandalf is based on the Norse deity Odin [39] in his incarnation as "The Wanderer", an old man with one eye, tolkien essay, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff. Tolkien wrote in a letter that he thought of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer".
Some critics have suggested that The Lord of the Rings was directly derived from Richard Wagner 's opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungenwhose plot also centres on a powerful ring from Germanic mythology.
Tolkien was "greatly affected" [27] by the Finnish national epic Kalevalaespecially the tale of Kullervoas an influence on Middle-earth. He credited Kullervo's story with being the "germ of [his] attempt to write legends". Both are tragic heroes who accidentally commit incest with their sister who on finding out kills herself by leaping into water. Both heroes later kill themselves after asking their sword if it will slay them, which it confirms, tolkien essay.
Like The Lord of the Ringsthe Kalevala centres around a magical item of great power, the Sampowhich bestows great fortune on its owner, tolkien essay, but never makes clear its exact nature. Like the One Ring, the Sampo is fought over by forces of good and evil, and is ultimately lost to the world as it is destroyed towards the end of the story.
The work's central character, Väinämöinenshares with Gandalf immortal origins and wise nature, and both works end with the character's departure on a ship to lands beyond the mortal world. Tolkien also based elements of his Elvish language Quenya on Finnish. Influence from Greek mythology is apparent in the disappearance of the island of Númenor tolkien essay, recalling Atlantis.
Greek mythology colours the Valar, who borrow many attributes from the Olympian gods. Tolkien compared Beren and Lúthien with Orpheus and Eurydicebut with the gender roles reversed, tolkien essay. There is the Children of Húrinthe tragic tale of Túrin Turambar and his sister Níniel — of which Túrin is the hero: a figure that might be said by people who like that sort of thing, though it is not very useful to be derived from elements in Sigurd the Volsung, Oedipusand the Finnish Kullervo.
Fëanor has been compared with Prometheus by researchers such as Verlyn Flieger. They share a symbolical and literal association with fire, are tolkien essay rebels against the gods' decrees and, basically, inventors of artefacts that were sources of tolkien essay, or vessels to divine flame. The extent of Celtic influence has been debated. Tolkien wrote that he gave the Elvish language Sindarin "a linguistic character very like tolkien essay not identical with British-Welsh because it seems to fit the rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers".
The exile of the Noldorin Elves, for example, has parallels with the story of the Tuatha Dé Danann, tolkien essay.
The Noldor arrived in Middle-earth from Valinor and burned their ships, then turned to fight Melkor, tolkien essay. Nuada received a hand made of silver to replace the lost one, and his later appellation has the same meaning as the Elvish name Celebrimbor : "silver tolkien essay or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin Telperinquar in Quenya.
Other authors, such as Donald O'Brien, Patrick Wynne, Carl Hostetter and Tom Shippey have pointed out similarities between the tale of Beren and Lúthien in the Silmarillionand Culhwch and Olwena tale in the Welsh Mabinogion. In both, the male heroes make rash promises after having been stricken by the beauty of non-mortal maidens; both enlist the aid tolkien essay great kings, Arthur and Finrod; both show rings that prove their tolkien essay and both are set impossible tasks that include, directly or indirectly, the hunting and killing of ferocious beasts the wild boars, Twrch Trwyth and Ysgithrywyn, tolkien essay, and the wolf Carcharoth with the help of a supernatural hound Cafall and Huan.
Both maidens possess such beauty that flowers grow beneath their tolkien essay when they come to meet the heroes for the first time, as if they were living embodiments of spring. The Mabinogion was part of the Red Book of Hergesta source of Welsh Celtic lore, which the Red Book of Westmarcha supposed source tolkien essay Hobbit-lore, probably imitates. The Arthurian legends are part of the Celtic and Welsh cultural heritage.
Tolkien denied their influence, but critics have found several parallels. Though Balin knows he wields an accursed sword, he continues his quest to regain King Arthur's favour.
Fate catches up with him when he unwittingly kills his own brother, who mortally wounds him. Turin tolkien essay kills his friend Beleg with his sword. Celtic or rather pseudo-celtic MacPherson may have used some genuine sources, but the work is generally considered a forgeryJames MacPherson's Ossian - or maybe a version in Andrew Lang's Fairy Books?
In the fifth "poem", Carric-Thora, MacPherson's hero Fingal duels with a shadowy evil god, Loda cf. Fingolfin vs Morgoth in Silmarillion and in another scene in the same poem a young warrior is revealed as a maid who has secretly followed her hero when her helmet falls off and her long hair falls free cf. Eowyn in the battle of Minas Tirith. There are a few echoes of Slavic mythology in Tolkien's novels, such as the names of the wizard Radagast and his home at Rhosgobel in Rhovanion ; all three appear to be connected with the Slavic god Rodegasta god of the sun, war, hospitality, tolkien essay, fertility, and harvest.
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields towards the end of The Lord of the Rings may have been inspired by tolkien essay conflict of real-world antiquity.
Elizabeth Solopova notes that Tolkien repeatedly referred to a historic account of the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields by Jordanesand analyses the two battles' similarities. Both battles take place between civilisations of the "East" and "West", tolkien essay, and like Jordanes, tolkien essay, Tolkien describes his battle as one of legendary fame that lasted for several generations, tolkien essay.
Another apparent similarity is the death of king Theodoric I on the Catalaunian Fields and that of Théoden on the Pelennor. Jordanes reports that Theodoric was thrown off by his horse and trampled to death by his own men who charged forward. Théoden rallies his men shortly before he falls and is crushed by his horse. And tolkien essay Theodoric, Théoden is carried from the battlefield with his knights weeping and singing for him while the battle still goes on.
Tolkien was also influenced by more modern literature: Claire Buck, tolkien essay, writing in the J. Tolkien Encyclopediaexplores his literary context, [] while Dale Nelson in the same work surveys 24 authors whose works are tolkien essay by elements in Tolkien's writings. Auden championed it. Those early critics dismissed Tolkien as non-modernist. Later critics tolkien essay placed Tolkien closer to the modernist tradition with his emphasis on language and temporality, while his pastoral emphasis is shared with First World War poets and the Georgian movement.
Buck suggests that if Tolkien was intending to create a new mythology for England, that would fit the tradition of English post-colonial literature and the many novelists and poets who reflected on the state of modern English society and the nature of Englishness. Tolkien acknowledged a few authors, such as John Buchan and Tolkien essay. Rider Haggardas writing excellent stories.
Shippey mentions Tolkien's interest in the primeval tolkien essay and people of North America, and speculates that the romantic descriptions of characters in James Fenimore Cooper might have influenced his descriptions of Aragorn and Éomer. When interviewed, the only book Tolkien named as a favourite was Rider Haggard's adventure novel She : "I suppose as a boy She interested me as much as anything—like the Greek shard of Amyntas [Amenartas], which was the kind of machine by which everything got moving.
Parallels between The Hobbit and Jules Verne 's Journey to the Center of the Earth include a hidden runic message and a celestial alignment that direct the adventurers to the goals of their quests. Tolkien wrote of being impressed as a boy by Samuel Rutherford Crockett 's historical fantasy novel The Black Douglas and of using it for the battle with the wargs in The Fellowship of the Tolkien essay ; [] critics have suggested other incidents and characters that it may have inspired, [] [] but others have cautioned that the evidence is limited.
Spiders I had met long before Burroughs began to write, and I do not think he is in any way responsible for Shelob. At any rate I tolkien essay no memory of the Siths or the Apts.
Middle Earth and The Perils of Worldbuilding
, time: 7:05Timeline – The Tolkien Society
Sep 11, · Tolkien retired from professorial duties in , going on to publish an essay and poetry collection, Tree and Leaf, and the fantasy tale By J. R. R. Tolkien On Fairy-stories This essay was originally intended to be one of the Andrew Lang lectures at St. Andrews, and it was, in abbreviated form, delivered there in To be invited to lecture in St. Andrews is a high compliment to any man; to be allowed to speak about fairy-stories is (for an Englishman in Scotland) a perilous Jun 30, · [Ed. note: This essay contains discussion of homophobia and mention of suicide.] I was 12 in , when The Return of the King was in
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