After an unintended and unforeseen hiatus, I am back. This is part 6 of a series on Tolkien’s Letter 131, most of which is included in the preface materials of The Silmarillion. Begin reading at Part 1 — or visit the previous post in this series. * * * At this point in his letter,... Continue Reading →
This is part 5 of a series on Tolkien’s Letter 131, most of which is included in the preface materials of The Silmarillion. Begin reading at Part 1 — or visit the previous post in this series. * * * After discussing the earliest days of Middle-earth and the Fall of the Elves through Fëanor,... Continue Reading →
Like many who smoke pipes in the modern world, I was drawn to them by the works of Tolkien. Neither of my parents were smokers of any sort, and while my stepfather smoked cigarettes during the first year or two that I knew him, he quit and has remained tobacco free ever since, almost thirty... Continue Reading →
This is part 3 of a series on Tolkien’s Letter 131, most of which is included in the preface materials of The Silmarillion. Begin reading at Part 1 — or visit the previous post in this series. * * * In Part 2 of this series, we looked at Tolkien’s claim that all his writing... Continue Reading →
First impressions are important, and the line quoted in the title of this post is the very first look we get of Eowyn. The line is easy to miss, as it is buried between the description of King Theoden as we see him for the first time and the description of Grima Wormtongue, who is... Continue Reading →
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 →
One of my absolute favourite passages in Lord of the Rings comes at the end of the chapter “The Siege of Gondor” in Return of the King. It is overwhelming in its darkness until, at the end, light and hope break in. It is a fantastic moment of eucatastrophe within the larger narrative, when all... 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 →
Boromir’s arc in The Lord of the Rings is tragic and yet there is glory in it. I am really eager to learn, next year, how my students react to this most noble of men—I’ll be teaching the novel for the first time. It’s already in the planning! On the one hand, Boromir is a... Continue Reading →
Something Tookish 