J.R.R. Tolkien
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I want to know what J.R.R. stnads for, I am sorry, I am new at this
>>By Autumn (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, I think.
>>By mg (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
J.R.R Tolkien is one of the best writers out there. If you have not read "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings" then you gotta read 'em! His description makes Middle-Earth come to life.
J.R.R Tolkien ranks #1 in my opinion, tied with J.K Rowling
>>By Taffibee (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
i just love Tolkiens work. I have not read any of the Lord of the Rings books, but I have read the Hobbit and I think that The Hobbit is an exellent book and I recommend it to people who like to read about fantasy.
>>By Edgar (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
I love J.R.R Tolkien's work, i saw Lord of The RIngs...and the Two Towers...and i can say its fabulous. I recomand ne of his works.
>>By Fred (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
ive heard that there is a rlationship between j.r.r.tolkien and nazi germany is this true
>>By eric (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:57)
I think that Tolkien is one of the greatest minds of our time. And I also think that a comment about Silmarillion by Hinkle or something like that is very inpropriate. It looks like that he isn't interested in Middle Earth at all, but in wars, battles etc. But this is not what is Tolkien all about. Hellooo? Anybody there? Tolkien has made up an entire new world and it's history!
>>By Sime (Monday, 10 Mar 2003 13:42)
the last time i was here it was full of idiots. evidently, from what i saw on tv the other night, the wwii connection is just rumour.
>>By mr. lee (Wednesday, 12 Mar 2003 00:39)
This is by far and away my favourite author. Tolkien has created a world which is so full of colour, noble characters and wonderful story telliing. LOTR is a tour de force in English literature not just in fantasy writing. Read this book, you won't regret it.
The hobbit was the first book to be released which gave us a glimpse into Tolkiens worlds. If you want a more in depth insight into what Tolkiens Middle Earth is about then read the Simirilion but I would add that this is a book for those of us who has been won over by Tolkien, I agree with the previous comment that this is not LOTR. One ought to remember that this is in fact a collection of Tolkiens work put together in a story form. The common thread being the simirils. Read this if you want to understand the constant references to the past in LOTR.
The LOTR was written at the same time as WWII was brewing and occurring, but it is a false connection. Tolkien saw industrial "progress" as the old and good being replaced by something which had less soul and meaning. Tolkiens works has a recurring theme of loss of innocense and grandure. One may succeed over evil but not without cost or consequence.
>>By Prolific reader (Friday, 25 Apr 2003 09:51)
I think that J.R.R. Tolkein had an amazing imagination. His work should be hightly appreciated and by most people it it. I find it most interesting that he is able to make such an interesting contrast between Beowulf and his own hero. Bilbo Baggins is a spin off on the typical hero. Very well wriiten.
>>By vmshnop (Tuesday, 29 Apr 2003 06:54)
I grew up with Tolkien's books as my parents were at Oxford in the 50s. One of my mother's friends was viva'd by Tolkien himself. She was a bit nervous so he told her she had passed and gave her a hug!
The descriptions of landscapes were done with incredible care. Many of them are based on real places. For instance the Withywindle in the Old Forest is just like the River Windrush near Oxford, particularly the stretch at Minster Lovell. The White Mountains of Rohan I am sure are the Swiss Alps, which Tolkien visited as a young man, and so on.
He is good on weather too.
Tolkien in his Foreword to LOTR raised and dismissed the idea it was an allegory on World War 2. That said, it is full of blond Nordic types. The language of the Rohirrim is actually Anglo-Saxon. Practically all the "good" characters are described as "tall" (except for the Hobbits and Dwarves, obviously -- but even Frodo is tall for a Hobbit, and Merry and Pippin actually put on a couple of inches). Btw I have always thought Galadriel (who was one tall lady) owes a lot to Virginia Woolf (maybe, as she is fond of gardening, there is a dash of the Sissinghurst Sizzler - UK lit joke).
Tolkien however rejected the Nazi ideas and this is proved by some correspondence he had with a German publisher who wanted to translate The Hobbit. The details are in Humphrey Carpenter's Life.
There is a very good book "The Road to Middle Earth" by Tom Shippey, which goes into the legendary origins and also takes seriously the message of LOTR itself. Shippey points out the Ring is a symbol of addiction, and poor Gollum is the ultimate junkie. This is not to belittle the impact of the work, but I think adds to it. Frodo is Froda, a very unfortunate character in Norse mythology.
Anyway, all hail Tolkien lovers! Westu Théoden hál!
>>By Patrick (Sunday, 11 May 2003 09:07)
He is the best writer of all time. I love LoTR it's the best book ever. Aragorn is the best caracter, and on the movie Viggo Mortenson is perfect for him. I can't wait for movie no. 3
>>By Laslo (Sunday, 18 May 2003 12:55)
to all that find The Silmarillion "not interesting" and "lacking in action" (though action isn't probably the only virtue required of any really good book):
just try to read through the starting pages, or, if you CANNOT then just skip them - the first time it's OK, you can always come back to them later:
what follows is a great - and I mean GREAT - epic, even wider in scope than the LoTR, and - at times - deeper in feeling (if you can imagine this)
you might miss the light humour of Sam Gamgee, but there's a lot to compensate for that
so just try, you lazy!
>>By yo (Wednesday, 4 Jun 2003 13:26)
His poem about tom Bombadil is cool.
>>By Sn@|2|<[-|2 (Wednesday, 2 Jul 2003 07:11)
I had the best website about The Silmarillion but I misplaced my creation on the wrong hard drive and it got formatted. It had every link you could possibly need with a detailed updated description of what could be found on each link. I went through the first 3000 google hits to his name followed by the first 20 pages to the more popular book titles.
AHH. Man i cant believe i did that !!!
>>By Brian (Thursday, 3 Jul 2003 06:09)
j.r.r. tolkien is my favorite writer of all time
>>By Michael Tenney (Monday, 7 Jul 2003 23:35)
he is boring!!
>>By hi mum (Wednesday, 9 Jul 2003 21:04)
YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!!!!!!!!!!!(To hi mum!) The Lord of the Rings is not boring, unless you compare it to Bored of the Rings. It would only be boring to low-intelligence creatures with no tolerance for great works of literature. Or maybe you meant J.R.R. Tolkien himself. You think he's boring? Well, how would YOU know? You wouldn't have met him, unless you're 60. If that's the case, then everything would be boring to you.
Well, anyway, Lord of the Rings is the best (but of course I say that about any other great thing. Hey, I like to live in the moment!). I could almost say the movies are as good as the books, though. Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen confirm that. Liv Tyler is lucky! She gets to talk in Elvish and make out with Aragorn. Alot.
I read the trilogy, like, ten times! I was obsessed with it in 6th grade. I guess I kept on reading it because my friend Claudia was reading it, and I wanted to prove that I could read faster. I could, actually. But it's a sad thing to see that I could read such a great book just for competition. >sigh< What has this world come to?
>>By BlackGoreCrow (Friday, 11 Jul 2003 08:21)
I have to say I was disappointed with the movie made from The Two Towers. Throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy Tolkien sticks with a sort of little guy vs. the impossible odds of the world. The whole point of Helms Deep was that the chances were one in a billion that they would make it through the night and by bringing in the non-existent Elvan army Peter Jackson undermined the whole paradigm that Tolkien strived for.
My other complaint about the movie was how they mis-portrayed Faramir of Gohndor. He was always one of my favorite characters and while he dug at Frodo about his "heirloom" he never had any intention of taking The Ring. Well those our my two complaints, tell me am I way off or do you guys think I'm right?
>>By Priss (Sunday, 20 Jul 2003 08:24)
He's one of my favourite writers!! The Lord of het Rings books are amazing. Every letter he wrote was great! And the movies are also good...but i think the books are better...but thats my opinion.
>>By Geertruida (Sunday, 20 Jul 2003 22:11)
I have loved all of Tolkien's books so far. LOTR (it is not a trilogy by the way, it is three volumes containing six books), and the Hobbit are really cool (I am up to my fourth time for each) and the Silmarillion is really amazing. I did have trouble getting into the book initially but please everybody, give it a chance, it is well worth your time. Also if you get the chance have a look at some of his other books. The poems in the Adventures of Tom Bombadil are really cool. Smith of Woolton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham are also worth reading.
I do love the movies (although the books are infinately better) but I do agree that Faramir should have been portrayed differently. You are not the only one to think like this, Priss, all of my friends think that Faramir has been wronged in this respect. I also agree about the little people overcoming obstacles thing, Helm's Deep is so much better in the book.
Does anybody else have any problems with the movies or the casting so far? I am really curious to find out. So far I have been fairly satisfied with everything. I hope they won't be straying too much further from the storyline for the third movie.
>>By Elf (Tuesday, 22 Jul 2003 03:54)
I completely disagree with BlackGoreCrow. I think you've been sitting on the wrong tree crow!!!! Geez. Tolkien is a really good writer. I like the movie and love the book. Heck, I even got my library teacher to let me keep LOTR over summer break. (I'm a slow reader so i'm not very far. plus I am very busy) Anyway. That's what I have to say. I may be back who knows. (P.S. Does anyone other than "BlackGoreCrow" [caw caw] know how J.K. Rowling got to the top when everyone should be shouting J.R.R. Tolkien?
>>By Elfin Gal (Tuesday, 22 Jul 2003 04:08)
Crap! (excuse me) I completely misunderstood BlackGoreCrow. I asm so sorry! Man I am imbarrased. Just the way you put what you said made it seem you think Tolkein is the worst author in the world. Man I am so sorry. Anyway all this talk about Nazi soldiers and crap is really ........ anyway I am jewish and I hate talking about that junk. I can talk about it, I just feel uneasy. don't be surprised if I don't mention it much.
sorry again.
>>By Elfin Gal (Tuesday, 22 Jul 2003 04:16)
Oh! date!
Monday, July 21, 2003 10:17 Atlantic Coast/Maryland
>>By Elfin Gal (Tuesday, 22 Jul 2003 04:17)
the ignorance of everyone astonds me....
the Silmarillion is a work that encompasses Tolkiens WHOLE life, he worked on it for many painstaking years, and in scope it is so much more important than LoTR,
it is history and understanding of that history that will allow you to fully grasp the importance of certain events in LoTR.
answer me this
why is it so touching that Galadriel gives Gimli three strands of her hair?
when even Feanor lusted for but one strand, Galadriel turned away, perciving the corruption festering inside him.
Why did this act heal many of the hurts between Elven kind and dwarves?
why is it important that Galadriel refuse the Ring of Power? and _what_ test did she pass?
what does the kinship between Arwen, granddaugther of Galadriel, descendent of Melian, and Aragorn, Heir of Isildur, and descendant of Elros, son of Elwing bring to the reign of the Elfstone
and _who_is Gandalf? what is the history of the isatrii?
read, and seek the answers, the Silmarillion, and the unfinished tales are a weath of knowledge.
i deeply respect Christopher Tolkiens labor of bringing the Silmarillion to life and light, the greatest of his fathers works, the most reaching biblical account of the history of Middle Earth, and the Fathers of the Eldar, the Edain, and the Dwarves.
>>By auspicious (Wednesday, 23 Jul 2003 10:09)
Hey, just be glad that Peter Jackson's version wasn't worse than the animated version.
>>By SoccerFreak (Friday, 25 Jul 2003 05:34)
if anyone thinks jk rowling is better than jrr tolkien i pity them . jjr tolkein is an amazing writer and i read lotr in one day - i read to much ok im not bragging - just everyone i know says jk rowling is the best author but i really cant see what the fuss is about
>>By candy (Monday, 28 Jul 2003 13:40)
i like both jrr tolkien and jk rowling but i perfer jrr tolkien his books are just so great and his work amazes me.
>>By christina (Monday, 28 Jul 2003 14:14)
By the way, I observed, that someone, who likes Tolkien, doesn't like Rowling. Why's that?
>>By Csongi (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 22:41)
My opinion is, that Tolkien-fans think Rowling-fans are more childish.
Please, help me out with this.
>>By Csongi (Wednesday, 30 Jul 2003 22:44)
The discussion board is currently closed.
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