book cards lotr fotr Flashcards
author.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE (pron.: /ˈtɒlkiːn/;[a] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.
He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford from 1945 to 1959.[1] He was at one time a close friend of C. S. Lewis—they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.
After his death, Tolkien’s son Christopher published a series of works based on his father’s extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda, and Middle-earth[b] within it. Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings.[2]
While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien,[3] the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the “father” of modern fantasy literature[4][5]—or, more precisely, of high fantasy.[6] In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945”.[7] Forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.[8]
country and time
Tolkien wrote the lord of the rings books in his home country of england. this was during the 1950’s when fantasay writing had some of its biggest names including tolkien and cs lewis
setting
the lord of the ring books were set in the magical land of middle earth.
themes
The influence of the One Ring has also been compared to drug addiction. Especially Gollum, who shows many traits of an addict like withdrawing himself and becoming suspicious and angry at anyone. But also Bilbo and Frodo have been found to exhibit signs of an essential addiction to the One Ring.[3]
literary devices
Authors like Peter J. Kreeft and Jean Chausse have identified reflections on the figure of Jesus Christ in three main characters of The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn. While Chausse found “facets of the personality of Jesus” in them, Kreeft wrote that “they exemplify the Old Testament threefold Messianic symbolism of prophet (Gandalf), priest (Frodo), and king (Aragorn).”[14][15] The interpretation of Gandalf as a prophet is shared by Mark Stucky, who also sees this character as a symbol of the resurrection of Christ.[16]
Also the motif of hope can be found in Aragorn’s successful handling of Saruman’s palantír. Only Aragorn as the heir of Isildur can rightfully use the seeing stone while Saruman and Denethor, who have both also made extensive use of a palantír, have become despaired or presumptive. These latter traits have been identified as one of the traditional Catholic sins “against the virtue of Hope.”[17]
