The opening chapters of Book Six, the second part of Return of the King, have got to be some of the most oppressive and depressing pages I have ever read. Chapter Two especially, “The Land of Shadow,” is just overwhelming in the dreariness and bleakness and sameness of the landscape. "Across Gorgoroth" by Ted Nasmith... Continue Reading →
After taking a little break, I have begun reading The Lord of the Rings aloud to my wife and daughter again. We picked up in Fangorn forest, and just this weekend I read to them of the healing of Theoden. It is one of those passages that I am surprised by time and again because... Continue Reading →
In three recent posts, I have been discussing Gandalf's words at the end of The Hobbit: 'You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?" As I was copying the passage out into my Tolkien Commonplace Book, I thought to myself that... Continue Reading →
A few weeks back, I wrote about Boromir being my favourite character from Lord of the Rings, and I mentioned that I was curious (and slightly concerned) to learn how my students would receive him, how they would deal with his attempt to take the Ring from Frodo and with his subsequent death. "The Last... Continue Reading →
In my last two posts, I have been discussing Gandalf's words at the end of The Hobbit: 'You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?" I have focused so far on the words managed by mere luck and suggested that luck... Continue Reading →
In the final paragraphs of The Hobbit, Bilbo remarks with some consternation, “Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!” "The Shadow of the Past" by Donato Giancola I have to admit that I personally hate—and I do mean hate and not just dislike—the use of prophecies... Continue Reading →
Bilbo’s decision to hand over the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil in chapter 16 of The Hobbit is momentous, and it is a very wise and courageous act. It reveals a hobbit who has come to think beyond himself, to risk his own safety to help save the lives of his friends. "The Arkenstone" by... Continue Reading →
Sometimes while reading you come across an image that sticks in your minds for days, weeks even. I want to talk about one of those today. It's been lingering in my mind for over two weeks since I read this passage from The Hobbit with my students. Here it is in context: 'The key!' shouted... Continue Reading →
When Bilbo first finds the Ring, he keeps it a secret from his friends. Gandalf's perceptive eye notes that Bilbo is hiding something, but the dwarves are as oblivious as ever. Bilbo withholds this detail from his recap of his encounter with Gollum, chuckling as he gives a somewhat believable lie—to a noisy folk like... Continue Reading →
This past week in my classes, I engaged the students in a discussion of the ethics around Bilbo's actions in the latter half of the novel. I offered the question: What is the difference between a burglar and a thief? On one level, this is a bit of a vocabulary check, and many of the... Continue Reading →
Something Tookish 