I've been asked more times than I care to remember why I feel passionate about The Lord of the Rings. I always have to stop them at this point and correct them. The truth is, it's not just The Lord of the Rings that I'm passionate about. I am absolutely in love with Tolkien's entire legendarium.
I read The Hobbit when I was in ~6th grade when The Lord of the Rings films were first coming out in theaters. As a 6th grader, I was enamored with the majesty, the adventure, the feelings of grandeur that narrated the simplest of Tolkien's work. I was hooked. At the middle school book fair, I bought The Lord of the Rings box set and set my mind to reading it.
Now, ~13 years later, I've read the trilogy 6 times and The Hobbit 5 times. Throw in a few passes at The Silmarillion and an honest-to-Eru college course in Tolkien Literature, and I think I qualify as a true Tolkien fan.
I wanted to start this blog with the only series that I felt worthy of the position. I've read a lot of fantasy and great novels since Tolkien but Middle-Earth is where my heart returns to. My mind scours the Shire, I persevere through the Pass of Caradhas, and my heart soars with the triumph of the restored King and the Reunited Kingdom.
The Lord of the Rings is a foundational piece of modern literature and has profoundly shaped global culture. The timeless story of overcoming great adversity holds parallels for all readers, regardless of age, and I can not think of a better text to start with than The Lord of the Rings. Happy reading, folks.
Love the palpable passion for Tolkien's masterpiece. Have you read any of Tolkien's other works though? Or is the passion strictly kept to this series?
ReplyDeleteHey Nate!
ReplyDeleteI've read many of the works that Tolkien has translated (Sir Orfeo, Pearl, Gawain and the Green Knight) as well as some of his short stories like Smith of Wooten Major and Farmer Giles of Ham. I really enjoy his overall style of prose and his translations show his sources of inspiration for the main LOTR series.
Overall, Tolkien didn't write much besides LOTR, mostly because he was a Professor of Old Norse first and foremost, and an author secondly and only begrudgingly at the begging of his friends.
It's a great world to get wrapped up in though. Truly, something for everyone.