J.R.R. Tolkien: A Journey Through Middle-earth
Embark on a mesmerizing journey through the life and imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien, the master storyteller behind the beloved fantasy world of Middle-earth. This captivating documentary offers an in-depth exploration of Tolkien’s life, his literary works, and the enduring legacy of his enchanting creations.
🔍 Documentary Highlights:
1.Early Life and Influences: Delve into Tolkien’s upbringing in England, his love for languages, mythology, and literature, and the experiences that sparked his imagination.
2.Creation of Middle-earth: Explore the rich tapestry of Middle-earth, from the rolling hills of the Shire to the towering peaks of Mordor, as Tolkien brings to life a world of myth, magic, and adventure.
3.The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: Journey alongside Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins as they embark on epic quests in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” two timeless classics that have captured the hearts of readers around the world.
4.Themes and Symbolism: Uncover the deep themes and intricate symbolism woven throughout Tolkien’s works, from the power of friendship and the triumph of hope to the struggle against darkness and despair.
5.Literary Legacy: Reflect on Tolkien’s lasting impact on the fantasy genre and his influence on generations of writers, artists, filmmakers, and fans who continue to be inspired by his imagination and creativity.
6.Personal Insights: Hear from Tolkien’s family members, friends, and fellow scholars, as well as interviews and archival footage of Tolkien himself, offering rare glimpses into the mind of the man behind Middle-earth.
📌 Key Words and Phrases:
J.R.R. Tolkien, Middle-earth, fantasy literature, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, mythology.
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John Ronald Ruel Tolkien was born on January 3 1892 in blam Fontaine South Africa tolkien’s father was Arthur R tolkin born on February 18 1857 the unusual family name is somewhat derived from being descended from immigrants from the Prussian region in East Germany who migrated to Britain by the mid 18th century Arthur was the manager of the bank of Africa in the orange free state when his Young Bride Mabel Suffield from Burmingham traveled to Cape Town so they could marry South Africa a colony at the time presented opportunities for young Europeans seeking their fortunes aided by the expansion of gold and diamond mining that created employment opportunities in the banking institutions therefore the young Arthur traveled there there his father being a piano maker in Birmingham before his bankruptcy striving to amass wealth in the 1880s when they married in 1891 in Cape Town Arthur was in his mid-30s while Mabel was in her early 20s although Arthur and Mabel’s marriage seemed to be the ideal middleclass lifestyle that many Britain aspired to during this period it was somewhat distant as Arthur spent long hours in the office or traveling for work during this time Jr rokan was born in January 1892 Mabel gave birth to another son Hillary Arthur rule on February 17 1894 but it was not destined for the children to spend the rest of their childhood in South Africa the young family excluding Arthur decided to return to England a decision based on the prevailing belief that the hot climates were not conducive to the English Constitution Mabel and Arthur used this reasoning to explain John Ronald’s health issues at school along with the onset of drought in South Africa Mabel embarked on a journey aboard the SSG returning to Birmingham in April 1895 where the young family awaited Arthur’s arrival however Arthur never made it as he succumbed to acute rheumatic fever and bleeding to death by February 15 1896 Mabel Tolkien proved to be a strong and independent woman dedicated to seeking the best for her children and attempting to provide them with the best upbringing possible under challenging circumstances after Arthur’s death Mabel and educated woman initially taught her sons Latin French and German in addition to supplying them with all the story books they could read under Mabel’s excellent guidance Tolkien learned to read and write at the age of four and soon began studying various languages Mabel relocated her sons throughout England searching for the ideal school for them but also to remove the family from under the excessive scrutiny of Mabel’s parents and their oppressive influence in 1896 the three moved to SAR Hall a small village outside Birmingham the time toan spent in SAR hle particularly influenced his growing interest in the environment and his deep love for trees and nature this pastoral love can be clearly seen in his later works such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings s whole Mill and its surrounding area became a source of inspiration for for Tolkien in creating the Shire even mentioned in the introduction to the Lord of the Rings he recalls playing in the Mills Courtyard being chased by the angry Miller imagining hunters and immersing himself in nature although it is now a suburb of Birmingham at that time it was a genuinely picturesque rural area fertile and peaceful sharply contrasting with the industrial modernity of nearby birmingh toian mentioned that he had never seen a car until his family left the area when he discovered years later that the mill had fallen into disrepair and the idilic nature of his childhood had been demolished due to Urban expansion his sorrow was evident another significant aspect of gr tokens upbringing that greatly influenced his life and writing was his mother’s conversion to Roman Catholicism her conversion and subsequent estrangement from her family LED Mabel to another move this time to a Birmingham suburb called Mosley here tolken encountered father Francis avier Morgan named after the founder of the famous Jesuit Society from the 16th century who would become an important figure in Young tolan’s Life in 1904 Mabel moved the family once again similar to their move from blow and fontin this transition from City to Countryside hastened illness once more young John Ronald and his brother Hillary contracted measles and hooping cough while Mabel herself was diagnosed with diabetes unfortunately at that time there wasn’t much that could be done for diabetes the family moved closer to father Morgan so he could assist in caring ing for the all tragically due to complications from diabetes Mabel fell ill and passed away on November 14 1904 leaving John Tolkien and his younger brother as orphans far Morgan became the guardian of the boys after Mabel’s death and the two orphans moved to their aunt be’s apartment in Birmingham to be closer to their school King Edward school during the reign of of king Edward tolki and first laid eyes on Old English the spoken and written language used in most of Britain during the Early Middle Ages token’s dedication to languages became a lifelong passion both as a scholar and as a creator of his own languages additionally during these formative teenage years tolken met his future wife Edith brat born on January 21 1889 Edith was 3 years older than Tolkien she was a skilled pianist and like Tolkien she was an orphan living in an inner city home in Birmingham the two developed a friendship that blossomed into a love story however the Romantic phase of their relationship didn’t last long father Morgan grew frustrated that Tolkien was dedicating time to Childhood romance instead of his studies and he forbade the couple from meeting again or even corresponding until token came of age Edith turned 21 Morgan was particularly bothered by the fact that Edith was a Protestant the separation from Edith despite its difficulty was not insurmountable facilitated by token’s close-nit group of male friendships within literary circles while tolkki and later had female students and academic colleagues his early environment dominated by male camaraderie became an integral part of his life and also influenced his work his friendship groups spent their time smoking pipes crafting original materials or reading works in their original Greek Latin or Old English one of tolan’s earliest social groups was the tea Club formed in 1911 at King Edward’s house when tolken was 19 years old old this club was founded by token and fellow students such as Christopher wisman RQ gillson many members of the tea club would face their Destinies on the battlefields in France by the end of the decade leaving a lasting impression on tolken and his work although tol in himself denied its influence in personal letters to friends many scholars consider it a lasting impact this period span the 40s and 50s Tolkien was accepted into the University of Oxford as an undergraduate student in 1911 a feat made possible through a scholarship from the university the exhibition to exitor college he won this award after a notable performance at King Edwards school where he was a member of the debating Society through this he showcased his linguistic abilities in Old English Greek and Gothic while also referring to ancient Germanic languages both in speech and writing tolkien’s acceptance into Oxford was just a humble beginning to a long relationship with the university he eventually became a respected professor of English language teaching philology Old English and related subjects token was always fascinated by languages where whether in learning them or creating them this Fascination profoundly influenced his Works including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings where he invented entire languages similarly Tolkien became a renowned philologist philology is the study of languages and Linguistics often focusing on ancient languages academically while writing The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Toki and published translations of stories and poetry such as Middle English poetry from The 14th Century Oxford was also formative for token in other ways however token’s early years at Oxford were interrupted due to the outbreak of War across Europe World War I began on July 28th 1914 after the outbreak of World War I Tolkien was determined to complete his studies at Oxford before enlisting to be with his fellow countrymen tolken spent his time in training to become an officer and wrote a significant amount of poetry during this period some of which contained surreal and plant themed influences for instance in 1914 toan wrote the poem Goblin feet for Edith a poetic celebration of her love for spring the following year this became his first first published written piece appearing in Oxford poetry this was a significant moment even though tolken later developed a dislike for the poem referring to it as The Wretched thing that represents all that I came shortly after very much to dislike considering it somewhat childishly imitative of fairies and the despite this retrospective dislike for some of his early Works poetry remained a crucial aspect of tolkien’s later writings with over 60 poems included in the Lord of the Rings it is likely that token’s most significant literary work during this time is his writing of The Voyage of endle the evening star another poem but the first one that can be recognized from Middle Earth the world in which the events of the Lord of the Rings and any of tolkien’s other works take place he also wrote three other poems about endel around this time burning them into his imagination to such an extent that the character of endle remained largely unchanged since then to the point that he received some references in The Lord of the Rings you might recall Frodo and Sam’s use of the feel of gadriel a pure and bright light to defeat shelob this light was captured from the Star erendor the broader myth that emerged over the years and subsequent decades initially came from him trying to discover the story of endel and His World although that had to wait a few years until the harsh realities of the real world hit home after graduating from Oxford in 1915 Tolkien was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fus Liars as in his youth Tolan traveled all over England from Bedford to Staffordshire and other places he continued his military training as a British officer specializing in signals which included learning mors code and how to send messages A fitting Pursuit for a man who was so deeply fascinated with languages at the same time on March 22 196 Tolkien and Edith brat got married after knowing each other for several years finally tying the knot in a morning ceremony at the church of St Mary Immaculate in wari Edith agreed to convert to Roman Catholicism for the success of their marriage a decision that led to a rift with her adoptive Guardian Tolan and Edith didn’t have much time to celebrate their final Union as Tolen would soon be shipped to the Western Front in France Tolkien landed in Kala on June 6 1916 there he was one of many newly arrived troops in France following the devastating losses at the Battle of Verdon in the previous February toan’s Battalion participated in the first battle of the Som a massive offensive that took place between the French and British forces on one side and the Germans on the other the battle began on July 1 1916 and and lasted for a total of 141 days resulting in around a million casualties on both sides the British suffered approximately 20,000 casualties on the first day of the Infantry attack making it one of the bloodiest days in British military history the war had profound consequences for tolan’s Fellowship particularly as members of his old Social Club including Rob Gilson and GB Smith were lost consequently only token and Christopher wisman remained from their original group toan contracted what was known as trench fever during the conflict trench fever was a disease transmitted by lice in the trenches affecting over a third of British soldiers on the Western Front during World War war it was characterized by severe headaches fever and muscle pain lasting for several days after the incubation period after being evacuated to the rear lines and receiving care in a French hospital in the 2K Tolkien was transported back to England for Recovery where he was reunited with Edith influenced by his experiences in the trenches and his love for epics like the Finnish calala token began working on what he called the book of lost Tales over the next few years he wrote several stories that would form the foundation for the sil melion the first of these was the story of the fall of gondolin followed by other Grand Tales of Baron and Luan and the children of furin additionally he started to organize his efforts in creating languages for his invented World in fact he had been inventing languages since his childh but now he directly connected his linguistic creator ity to building his world he continued working on all these Works throughout his life and while he did published some completed works such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings much of his remaining work remained under continuous revision until his final days the extent of tolan’s ambition was evident as he not only created backgrounds for some stories but constructed a broad Mythic framework from which stories could emerge meanwhile toien left the hospital in October 1916 after 2 years of convalescence interspersed with military postings across England he suffered recurrent illnesses upon resettlement and frequently returned to the hospital for Recovery during this time Edith and Tolkien started building their family their first son John Francis rule was born on November 6th 1917 shortly after the young family returned to Oxford where toan took a position as an assistant lexicographer in the summer of 1920 toen applied for and was appointed as a reader in English language at the University of Leeds there toen connected with another young scholar Eric Valentine Gordon Gordon a skilled linguist and researcher matched tolan’s proficiency and intelligence in Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon languages they became close friends eventually forming the Viking Club where they invented anglosaxon songs and poems among other scholarly entertainments at the same time tolan’s Family continued to grow he and Edith welcomed another son Michael Hillary rule born on October 22 1920 and a third boy Christopher rule born on November 21 1924 Christopher would later become a scholar in his own right playing a significant role in editing and Publishing his father’s Works after many years in close proximity to Christopher’s birth tolkin applied for the position of the Anglo-Saxon professorship at his almaa the University of Oxford the application was success uccessful and Tolkien returned to Oxford where he would continue to deliver lectures for most of the remainder of his life in 1926 the Tolkien family moved to northmore Road it was during this time that much of the work on The Hobbit took place the family stayed in this residence for 21 years marking one of the longest sustainable periods token lived in any one place in this period the toan family was completed with the birth of Priscilla on June 18 1929 it’s challenging to understate the importance of toan’s children in his life he was a devoted father often sending them Illustrated letters and reading them stories from his invented worlds it might be an exaggeration to suggest as some have that Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings specifically for John Michael CHR Christopher and Priscilla however there is no doubt that they would play a role in shaping his world Middle Earth and the characters inhabiting it there is an element of childhood fantasy throughout the narrative while the novels also address adult themes and provide moral lessons returning to Oxford tokki and social and literary circles also expanded in 1926 one of tolkien’s most most famous groups and clubs was formed it was in this year that toen met Clive Staples Lewis known as CS Lewis the renowned author of The Chronicles of naria the interactions and relationships Within These circles along with the influence of his own children contributed to the richness and depth of tolkien’s literary Works Tolkien and Lewis enjoyed a longlasting friendship marked by mutual respect and admiration despite periods of physical distance between them the growing anglicanism of Lewis was one reason for this distance as tolkien’s Catholicism influenced his world while some claim that religion and literature do not go hand inand this was not the case for Tolkien some biographers mention that the sil Marillion was profoundly religious and toking considered writing the Lord of the Rings a Christian Duty and Endeavor much of Tolkien sense of the religious importance of his work stemmed from his belief that he wasn’t merely creating myths rather he was revealing truths akin to what a historian might do he crafted for himself a Persona in the world as an academic unraveling the stories of Middle Earth to the extent that he would sometimes adopt this Persona in responding to fan letters he engaged with their questions and theories by suggesting alternative interpretations of his work and different ways to translate the languages he had created for Tolkien his creation was not an entirely separate world but rather a realm in a different state in this way tolken saw it as his duty to unveil the truth within the myth and to comprehend human patterns throughout history the biographer Humphrey Carpenter captured this sentiment about tolkien’s work stating just as speech is an invention about things and ideas myth is an invention about understanding the Fantastical world toan was constructing since the 1920s culminating in the creation of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings requires delving into the academic journey of tolkin token’s work span several decades whether during a brief period at Leeds or primarily at Oxford focusing on elements of anglo-saxon poetry and Pros as well as the Epic elements of English and Norse mythology these influences profoundly shaped the way in which he develops the world of Middle Earth for instance during his time it leads in the early to mid 1920s Tolkien worked on Middle English vocabulary this involved creating a glossery for the varieties of English spoken and written between approximately 11400 a period spanning from the Norman Conquest to the early movements of the Renaissance in England his work in Middle English alongside his exploration of Old English in the early medieval period played a significant role in shaping the language used in The Lord of the Rings and other works one know able aspect in this regard is the intertwining of token’s portrayal of elves in Middle Earth and some Anglo-Saxon writings tolken not only studied but also taught and edited certain Anglo-Saxon text during his time at Leeds and Oxford he contributed to the study and publication of some of the most important works of English epic poetry and Pros while at leads he collaborated with EV Gordon in editing an addition of ser GNE and the Green Knight a 14th century romantic aruan story involving siga Wayne one of the Knights of the Round Table elements from the aruan cycle can be seen entering tolan’s fantasy world in the form of rohim or in reality Aragon as a kind of pseudo athuan King when Tolkien returned to Oxford in the mid 1920s he was working on an edition of one of the most important Anglo-Saxon epic poems ever beol although the Edition was never published as he completed it in 1926 he delivered a number of famous lectures at the time that solidified his reputation as one of the foremost Scholars of B in the world studies of tolan’s Works tend to argue for the defense of the dark lord Sauron whom tolken positioned as the primary antagonist in The Lord of the Rings drawing parallels with the great Anglo-Saxon adversary grindle in the epic poem it is crucial to understand tolken literary output in constructing the world of Middle Earth as an extension of the Anglo-Saxon and English mythology that captivated his academic Pursuits in leads in Oxford perhaps it was in the summer of 1930 when this Grand Vision began began to crystallize around a very simple story in one of the most famous moments of inspiration in history Tolkien was grading exam papers when a sentence came to him that would shape the entire narrators in a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit and he quickly scribbled it on the back of an exam paper he was grading it became the foundation for a longer story centered around the character Bilbo Baggins and and the emergence of The Hobbit in the following years it evolved into a much larger narrative despite this crucial start token like any writer needed a circle of critique and support this support network materialized fully in the form of the inklings in the early 30s membership was irregular especially during the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent dispersal of members or the inability to gather at the pub due to wartime constraints when the group was first formed its members included Tolkien Lewis Oxford physician ra Harvard Lewis’s elder brother Warren Lewis Barr Owen Barfield and English literature lecturer at the University of reading Hugo Dyson while they held a variety of professions the inklings were bound together by their shared interest in literature and their Christianity due to these connections Tolkien often presented early drafts of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to the other inklings The Hobbit began as stories tokki and told to his children some of these stories and poems were never written down while others were never published nevertheless Tolkien suggested many of these Tales to his Publishers at various times as possible appendices to The Hobbit for instance tolkki and once wrote a Whimsical poem titled The Adventures of Tom Bombadil named after one of Michael token’s dolls in 1934 this poem was published in an Oxford magazine tolken enjoyed tactile medium such as watercolors which he used to create illustrations for the sil merilan in the 1920s in addition to the maps and illustrations of Middle Earth that eventually found their way into the Hobbit the children stories written by other authors from his childhood also influenced tolken when writing The Hobbit the film The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo baggin a hobbit living in a Cozy home in bagend in the quain town of hobbiton in the Shire a region in Middle Earth where people lead primarily idolic lives until Bilbo encouraged by the wizard Gandalf becomes entangled with a group of dwarves trying to reclaim their Homeland there are already quite a few similarities between toyin and the novel’s protagonist Bilbo both Bilbo and tokim belong to the comfortable middle class and embody characteristics and habits of a respectable lifestyle they are sensible people of average age who don’t travel much in fact toi and himself despite his love for learning countless languages and various cultures did not travel extensively to these places in his old age the only place he spent his vacations was the English Seaside and even that he did not enjoy much he confessed saying I am in fact a hobbit in all but size he loved Gardens trees and non-mechanized farmlands he smoked a pipe and enjoyed good ordinary food non-refrigerated during the process of crafting the Hobbit many character names underwent changes the dwarf who originally carried the name Gandalf was later changed to Thorin and the dragon originally named pron became smart Tolkien chose several names from the old Norse poetic and Pros collection known as the Eder A compilation of Old Norse mythology and Icelandic Legends inspired by elements of Norse and Icelandic talking Drew from his personal life to show for instance bagend was inspired by his Aunt Jane’s Farm in worshire England the character Gandalf Drew inspiration from a postcard of Jay madelin’s artwork titled de burgest or the mountain Spirit the artwork depicted an old man sitting in the forest patiently harmonizing with the surrounding Wildlife the Sha fundamentally rep presents a romanticized version of England as Tolkien and many others in his time wished it to be The Hobbit was far from complete let alone published as it was written for toan’s children and evolved with their growth Tolkien saw no reason to conclude the story however a former student of Tolan named Elaine Griffiths read the story and thought it was marvelous in 1936 she gave the the incomplete manuscript to an employee at Allen for him to read this employee was Susan dagnal after a somewhat challenging revision process by tolken the perfectionist was published on September 21 1937 and copies were sold by December following the success of The Hobbit token hoped to publish the sil merilon however due to its initial confusing of poetry and Pros along with its considerable length Alan Enwin chose not to publish it one of the most challenging aspects of the work for the publisher to Market was its lack of a traditional narrative framework within the sil merilan simultaneously fans practically clamored for more stories centered around Hobbits meeting the desires of both fans and the publisher for more Hobbit stories combined with token’s desire to incorporate elements from the mythologies mentioned in the Saran motivated tolken to begin what became known as The Lord of the Rings as with The Hobbit many character names in The Lord of the Rings changed over time originally Frodo baggin’s name was Bingo bagins and he was Bilbo’s nephew other characters perhaps most notably those who became the hobbits marry and Pippen were origin Ally Bingo’s cousins Odo and Frodo just like with Hobbit character names to and Drew inspiration from his life for example the name gami came from the colloquial term for cotton wool when he was growing up in Birmingham however more importantly the Lord of the Rings is inspired by token’s love for the natural landscapes of England and the people who inhabited the land his affection and nostalgia for the trees forests and water features from his childhood played a significant role as Tolkien smoothly wrote the first chapter about Bilbo baggin’s birthday party he found himself uncertain about where the plot of the new story would go next given this limited planning the story naturally evolved with Tolkien introducing a menacing Black Rider into the early chapters this character would later become the ring rats interestingly it wasn’t until the writing of The Lord of the Rings that the ring Bilbo stole from Gollum in The Hobbit became the One Ring previously there was no concept of the one ring to rule them all tolken added any foreshadowing on this matter during one of his numerous revisions of The Hobbit when Tolen began writing the book that would eventually be published as the concluding part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy the world he inhabited had once again been marred by War the aftermath of world war in which tolk and himself had fought years earlier had created a myriad of new challenges World War II more than any other major European war was perceived as a conflict between good and evil given the nature of the war raging across Europe when Tolen was writing a significant p of The Lord of the Rings many commentators tended to view the Epic as an allegory for World War ii4 for example sauron’s character could be seen as representing Adolf Hitler an embodiment of absolute evil while the Orcs in the novels could be actual symbols of the German Weimar The Two Towers in the second book of the trilogy might be considered as Nazi Germany and one of its allies either Bonito must melin’s Italy or the Empire of Japan in a similar vein the tense relationships between the powers of Rohan Gondor The Elves and the dwarves in The Lord of the Rings can be seen as allegorical to the divisions among the different allied powers of Britain the United States and the Soviet Union despite being highly divided they found a common cause in facing the greatest evil represented by Nazi Germany since 1941 onwards many have suggested that the dark turn in toan story involving the ring raids and the fiery Mount Doom might have been influenced by This Global context however tolki and himself emphatically stated in the introduction to the Lord of the Rings that he cordially despises allegory in all its manifestations despite being aware that authors experiences might influence their works his intention was that his story reflected that without having any allegorical reference whatsoever there is another way to completely view the Lord of the Rings this includes the idea that the Epic is actually an example of the processes of modernity and how it corrupted the world Tolkien was heavily influenced by the writings of William Morris a British poet artist novelist architect and in environmental activist from the 19th century who rejected the forces of modernity and industrialization in brit instead he advocated for British arts and crafts as practiced before the war the Industrial Revolution that began in the mid 19th century many elements of The Lord of the Rings strongly criticize industrialization especially the sections in what would eventually become The Two Towers where Isengard Rises to become an ally of Sauron and begins building an industrial Army relying on the destruction of the great forests in the middle e in this sense Tolkien portrays the Shire as the ideal representation of what England was before the Industrial Revolution while saon and Eisen guard represent the opposite the ultimate product of these malignant effects is Gollum himself a character destroyed by G speed and materialism created by industrialization and the emergence of the consumer Society however the truth is that the world of Middle Earth with elements of anglo-saxon mythology narrative storytelling and contemporary parallels to both World War and I.E industrialization nationalism and modernity was incredibly vast and intertwined in toan’s created world it’s not possible to pinpoint a single influence on his ideas in fact tolken originally conceived Middle Earth and began writing about it in the 1920s as a form of personal mythology that he used to explore various ideas about philology ontology mythology and other aspects of his professional and personal it would be an oversimplification to assert that the Lord of the Rings is a direct allegorical stat statement about World War II its layers are highly complex and such a reading does not do justice to it writing the Lord of the Rings was a long and arduous process in fact it took tolk and 12 years to write the story along with another four years to revise and make it publishable the lengthy manuscript was divided into three volumes upon completion The Fellowship of the Ring the two towers and the Return of the King but however this decision was made due to the paper shortages of that time originally tolken composed the story as a single narrative in six parts but post warp paper shortages in Britain Le Publishers to convince tolken to publish it in three books consequently the names of these three volumes were artificial constructs and tolken himself was not pleased with the title of the last book because he believed it revealed too much about the ending therefore he wanted the title to be the war of the Ring instead he also disliked the two towers and complained to his publisher that he wasn’t entirely sure which Towers the title refer to the material that originally composed it was two or three books titled the treason of eisinga and the ring goes east when to initially wrote those volumes part of the delay in publishing the Lord of the Rings can be attributed to tolken deciding that it was in fact just a sequel to his unpublished work the sil merilan a history and mythology of Middle Earth Tolkien spent a significant amount of time trying to persuade the publisher to release the sil merilon alongside the Lord of the Rings talk K had been trying to convince them to publish the sil merilan since 1937 but as mentioned earlier they consistently resisted a compromise was finally reached tolken expanded much of the content in extensive appendices for the Return of the King the sil Marillion in its larger form was never published during his lifetime however a few years after his death his son Christopher edited his Dr drafts notes and revisions into a final version and published it The Fellowship of the Ring was published in August 1954 followed by two consecutive volumes in November 1954 and October 1955 tolken stories quickly became beloved Classics establishing a broad Global fan base in the early 60s indeed early in 1955 the BBC broadcast cast a radio adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring since then fans expanded into the source material itself in the 60s a tolken society was formed in London people gathered at Hobbit walks daing Hobbit attire and other middle-ear outfits Fame spread globally leading to the formation of the Frodo Society in North Borneo the Mysterious Island in the east Indian archipelago mile away from the world Tolkien lived and worked in throughout his life all of this occurred during tolkien’s lifetime not to mention the broad fan base that exists today tolken spent much of the mid to late 50s expanding the scope of The Lord of the Rings working on translating the text for publication in non-english-speaking countries token’s house would receive phone calls from fans at all hours with some even showing up at their doorstep hoping to meet the renowned author in person despite this aversion to the public attention he attracted tolken enjoyed responding to fan mail with long and detailed replies although as he aged he would misplace many of his responses somewhere in the house only to ReDiscover them later and send them on their way Tolen continued writing until his final days whether it was reviv in the sil melion or creating new works for instance in the mid-60s he wrote Smith of won major a short fantasy story about a man who swallowed a star and was transported to the land of fairy token considered it a meditation on aging and growing old it was published by Allan in anwin in 1967 Edith and token moved to the coastal Resort of bourman in 19 68 when the couple was in their 70s by that time Edith who was 3 years older than Tolkien was experiencing health issues that made managing their household and caring for him extremely challenging they also wanted to escape the attention generated by token’s former residents in Oxford despite their retirement from teaching several years earlier the couple lived in Southern England for 3 years during which tol in continued the task of reviewing and reorganizing the sil Marillion hoping to finally find a publisher willing to publish the text he had been working on for over 30 years however while Edith’s Health briefly improved due to the seaside air it eventually deteriorated further in the fall of 1971 she was admitted to the hospital where she suffered from galbladder inflammation and she passed away on November 29 1971 at the age of 82 after Edith’s death Tolkien returned to Oxford when he was invited by his former employer Merton College to live in a special set of rooms and was given the title of honory fellow resident at the college the car family responsible for caring for the couple living below tolkin rooms were available to take care of him and they often shared meals together throughout the early 1970s tolken received several honorary degrees including an honorary doctor of letters from the University of Oxford these honors were not for his novels but for his academic contributions to Linguistics significantly influencing his Works Tolkien spent his final years in this manner suffering from a bleeding gastric ulcer and chest inflammation after a short hos Hospital stay he passed away on September 2 1973 at the age of 81 tolkin passing in 1973 did not Mark the end of his works in the publishing world most of what he wrote about Middle Earth and indeed the majority of it remained unpublished until his death it is easy to forget that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were the only complete stories from Middle Earth Earth published during his lifetime both achieved tremendous success but the other work he wrote about this world remained unpublished in the Years following his death his son Christopher Tolkien took on the role of his father’s literary executive finally in 1977 after more than half a century since token began contemplating its publication the sil marilan the mythology toen had long desired to publish was printed now one of the bestselling books in its own right the sil marilan has sold millions of copies in the Years following the release of an additional 12 volumes of the history of Middle Earth reconstructed from various notes left by tolken essays and random scribblings were edited and published the three great Tales from the first age Invision by toin Baron and L luthan the children of hurin and the fall of gondolin were also published posthumously this was followed by films radio adaptations and plays based on tolkien’s extensive writings about Middle Earth interest in the life and works of this great man continue to grow although it is always challenging to verify total sales figures especially since they do not account for used in third-party Book Sales industry experts often estimate that the Lord of the Rings is the bestselling novel of all time it is surpassed only by religious texts such as the Bible and the Quran along with mayo Zing’s Little Red Book in overall Book Sales however it’s worth noting that the Bible and the Quran have been in existence for thousands of years and are the foundational text for the world’s two largest religions the Little Red Book was associated with a totalitarian state that compelled people to read it in this context the Lord of the Rings stands alone in Book Sales based on people’s genuine appreciation for the text and their interest in it The Hobbit is not far behind the cultural impact of The Lord of the Rings at Middle Earth is truly epic in the cultural extension of Middle Earth stories has had a massive cultural impact in recent decades Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in particular garnered the most Oscars in any film series with the final film in the trilogy The Return of the King winning 11 Academy Awards the most ever for a single film tying with Ben herur and Titanic indeed the rings of power series is now streaming on Amazon Prime touted as the most expensive television series ever made however perhaps the most significant indication is that the Lord of the Rings effectively spawned an entire genre Fantasy on its George R Martin the author of Game of Thrones openly acknowledges his debt to tolken as do many others like Robert Jordan the creator of The Wheel of Time series a fantasy story that aspired to match tolken in its Epic scope and mythical world building Hobbits elves dwarves and Orcs have now become prevalent and recognized worldwide perhaps despite his conflicting feelings Tolkien did succeed in creating a Mythos that resonates across cultures tolken was indeed one of the greatest authors of the 20th century between the 1920s and 1950s he crafted an entire world from which em merged The Hobbit the Lord of the Rings the sil melion and numerous other works these Works effectively laid the foundations for an entire genre of literature fantasy novels many Giants in this field have acknowledged toan’s fundamental role in creating and popularizing this literary genre While others may have imitated his work none have surpassed tolken himself as a professor Adept at integrating elements from previous epics and traditions into his writings and as a builder of vast and expansive worlds it is doubtful that anyone else could write them because they reflect tolkien’s personal life experiences academic work and his stances on family friendship and the society in which he lived in 1961 Tolkien was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature by his lifelong friend CS Lewis this nomination was perhaps premature not because the Lord of the Rings did not deserve such recognition but because the literary landscape of the 1960s did not readily accept Works involving elves dwarves and Hobbits wandering through a Fantastical world called Middle Earth as fitting the criteria for the Nobel Prize two of the Laur Ates in the early 1960s were John Steinbeck and John Paul Sera whose Works were more aligned with the existentialist philosophy when compared to works like those of Steinbeck and SRA tolkien’s Creations might have been dismissed as mere fantasy or as a Fantastical work that did not reflect the world and interests of the 20th century however this perspective fails to fully appreciate the historical depth embedded in token’s works and the profound insights he offered into the consequences of creation and renewal all those who engaged with tolken Publications including the Lord of the Rings were part of a cultural conversation that shaped and challenged societal Norms in this light had Tolkien been alive and writing today it is likely that he would have been considered for and perhaps awarded the esteemed Nobel PR in literature during his lifetime tolken stories remind us of the importance of folklore and fantasy Tales emphasizing our connection with nature his narratives evoke a sense of romance a yearning for a simpler and more Serene life and tap into our childhood aspirations for Fantastical stories about dragons elves and both large and small monsters in works such as the Lord of the Ring The Hobbit the sil marilon and his other stories toan gifted the world with a new folklore of mythical tales that will undoubtedly continue to enchant and Captivate countless Generations in the future turning token’s own stories into Legends and ensuring that his name remains a Timeless one if you liked the video support us by subscribing to the channel and sharing it thanks for watching and