JRR Tolkien, the writer, There and back again |
 Jun 20 2008, 09:58 AM
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Leaky's Official Donut Maker and Mosquito Man  Posts: 11,144 Joined: 10:51am August 25, 2005 Location: Playing kal-toh with Professor Snape    |
JRR Tolkien has given us a unique insight into Middle Earth and its inhabitants through his powerful descriptions, evocative imagery and incredible use of language. Apart from creating whole linguistic systems and histories of the peoples of Middle Earth, his use of the English language draws us into Bilbo's adventure. The drama and tension are palpable as we find ourself alone in the Forest at night, or battling the Spiders ... we are caught up in every step of the journey and its many adventures.
Fantasy fiction is not a new genre of literature, and tales of magical creatures such as trolls, elfs or dragons are as old as dirt.But, I cant think of any other book that makes them come alive to us, transports us to Middle Earth and reveals its inhabitants, history and traditions. The Hobbit was first published in 1937, over 70 years ago, in a time before television or DVDs. There were movie theaters at that time but otherwise the methods of storytelling were very limited. What a fantastic mind and imagination JRRT must have had to write not just a *childerns fantasy fiction* book but, whole books with languages, history, maps and detailed explanations of the eras of Middle Earth describing the legends and mythology of the *Elder Days*, providing background history of Elvish tongues. He calculated calendars of the different Ages of Middle Earth. In fact we (or at least I) do not feel that we're being told a story but, the story of a very real place that actually exists or existed in the past. Although The Hobbit is described as *a prelude* to The Fellowship of The Ring, all books are connected by each other and interconnected by their content. In The Hobbit we hear names and stories dating back to times before the Third Age, such as Elrond, the High-Elves, Orcs, Durin, Moria and of course The Ring itself. There are themes that run through all the books, while more detailed history and backgrounds have their own books. Not being a serious writer myself, I imagine that all good authors have a detailed background for their characters and the world they inhabit. But, I would think that JRRT was the first to take it to a whole new level of research. He has created a real world with its own languages, legends and history. At first glance that might not seem so spectacular, after all JKR has a whole timeline with legends, languages and history dating back to way before the start of the first Harry Potter book. But, a precedent had already been established (and now it is much easier to research facts on the internet and plot dates on a PC) (not that I'm dissing JKR lol, I'm a huge fan) But, when JRRT wrote his books he had no extensive database to fall back on, and no precent to set the high standard. This shows an awesome intellect and great author that is JRRT. This post has been edited by Moose_Starr: Jun 20 2008, 09:59 AM --------------------   I'm 1 of the 99.99% W.L.Y.J.  When I sleep I dream, and when I dream I can rise above the walls Remember Cameron Duncan Thanks Jeff! |
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