The Abounding Creativity of Middle-earth: An Appreciation of J.R.R. Tolkien

I considerJ.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) and Middle-earth (timeless), and I find myself eventually arriving at Homer.

Tolkien in World War I

I’ve been reading about Homer and his Iliad and Odyssey, and the work that’s been underway for several years on what’s believed to be the tomb of Odysseus, or someone like him. We’re still learning that stories we believe to be myths, in the contemporary sense of that word, may actually be grounded in historical fact. It doesn’t mean they’re completely and historically accurate, but it does mean that the oral tradition they come from may be more historical than we realized.

Homer’s works were considered more fiction than anything else, until 1870, when the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the site that is now considered the battleground of the Trojan War. Troy turned out to be a real place.

When he was young, Tolkien found himself fascinated with the Edda, the collections of prose and poetry written in Iceland in the 13^thcentury. These writings were themselves collections of stories from much earlier times that continued until the Viking Age. The Edda is our main source of knowledge of Norse mythology, and it would exercise a significant influence on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and indeed all of Tolkien’s writings.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

The Last of the Tolkien Tales: “The Fall of Gondolin”

Gondolin is a city created by elves, hidden away in the mountains, the last outpost of light in the First Age of Middle-earth, when the evil forces of Morgoth have conquered almost everything else. Morgoth knows this city must exist, and he regularly sends search parties of orcs to find it. Its end is almost inevitable, and the story of that end is told in The Fall of Gondolin, the last of the unpublished tales of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Opposing Morgoth is Ulmo, the god of the sea, who raises up Tuor of the race of men. Tuor undertakes three great journeys in his life. 

The first is his journey from his own homeland toward the sea, subconsciously hearing the call of Ulmo. 

The second is his journey to Gondolin, where he comes to live and marry Idril, the daughter and only child of the elvish king. Tuor and Idril have a son, Earendil, who, outside the arc of this story, will have a son named Elrond of Rivendell, a main character of The Lord of the Rings.

Tuor’s third great journey will be to lead his family and a small remnant of the elves of Gondolin to safety, after the destruction of the city. 

And thus ends one of the great publishing stories of modern times.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.

A New Exhibition: Tolkien and the Making of Middle-earth

I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien in college. The editions were likely the pirated ones controversially published by Ballantine; almost overnight it seemed everyone on campus was carrying their paperback copies. By the time I graduated, an authorized version of the books had been published in the United States, and I bought the hardbacks, which are well read and still on my bookshelf.

J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1920s

And the Peter Jackson movies from 2001 to 2003? My youngest son and I saw them three times each in the theaters, watched them again when the movies were available on CD, and watched them yet again when the extended version / director’s cut CDs went on sale. 

I’m a fan, but I’m not a fanatical fan. I wore street clothes to the movie theater. I did not dress up as a hobbit, a wizard, an orc, Stridor, an ent, an elf, a dwarf, a balrag, or Shelob the giant spider.

The biggest Tolkien event since the movies is now underway in Oxford. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.