J. R. R. Tolkien

Middle-earth as a mirror

Romans 8:22  “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

Who can interpret the groanings of Creation, its pain?

Among those who made an attempt might also be counted professor Tolkien. By engaging in languages,in ancient words, he kind of listened in  a greater story about the marvelous things of old ..

 

fangorn3

 

 

A couple of posts from other bloggers on this topic  1, 2

Days of the Dragon ?

Many people are waiting for the next movie in Peter Jackson’s film-trilogy “The Hobbit” to come out on the screen. Even more people are probably not waiting . Nevertheless: the second part with the title “The desolation of Smaug” should start the show in mid-December.

Didn’t the real apocalyptic Dragon of the Bible – Rev. 12:3 – 9 – beat it?

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”

Slate: The Eye of Sauron Is the Modern Surveillance State

drakoonArt with Dragons – or the Dragons art?

The Guardian                                                                                                                                              x

The Story about Bilbo – where humans are at a mystical distance

In our reality , where people are very present, there are a lot of quarreling. Now there are a lot of discussions about a movie film, “Bilbo” – Peter Jackson’s movie on JRR Tolkien’s story – even before it’s release, soon. Not to mention a lot of other troubles …
Did animals suffer and even die while the movie was made? ( Guardian ) – Can JRR Tolkien’s estate reach any result with their suing? (Telegraph ) –  In New Zealand the “Lord of the Ring” – volcano once picturing “Mount Doom” erupts… (Daily Mail )
– –
But human beings are placed on a certain distance in the books of Tolkien. They are other creatures In comparison with the hobbits, dwarfs , elves and many other beings who are more frequent on the pages, until some moment when these others – humans – does enter the scene.
In “The Lord of the Ring” it takes place when Strider/Aragorn show up in “The Prancing Pony”in Bree.
In “Bilbo” human beings first appears with the Lake-men, later in the story.
If not the mystical Boern gives us a human impression:
“He changes his skin: sometimes he is a great, strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you much more, though that ought to be enough. Some say that he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came. Others say that he is a man descended from the first men who lived before Smaug or the other dragons came into this part of the world, and before the goblins came into the hills out of the North. ”
( According to Gandalf – “The Hobbit” chapter 7)
                                                                                                  Illustration – John Howe
Enhanced by Zemanta

Even the best hikers can get Gollum as their personal guide

For some reason I turned to one of the great book reading experiences of my childhood, the trilogy about “The fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien. Probably I read it already in the 60’s.  Any way it was long before 1973 when I, together with a friend, visited London . We travelled by train through western Europe for a month, it was the so-called “Interrail”. In London I bought an english paperback-version of  “The Lord of the Ring” , and put it in my bookshelf as I returned home. But by then I had already read it twice in a swedish translation.

Now, almost 40 years later , I again couldn’t lay the book aside until it was read, this time the english paperback-version, which I had looked for, and also had found.

This book is some kind of a riddle – where do you find a book of such kind, that is so extremely entertaining, that when you have read and read and then look to  see, and find that there is  still a lot to read, it  only makes you happy! Yes, I know there are other opinions, but this is what I think.

Read Full Article