About the Author
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, where his father was a bank manager. After his father’s death, four-year-old […]
The Lord of the Rings
Setting
Physically Middle-earth resembles modern Earth. It is the inhabitants that add the touch of unreality that a reader expects in what Tolkien calls a “secondary” […]
Themes and Characters
The enduring conflict between good and evil is the underlying theme of the trilogy, but Tolkien develops others in connection with it. He explores the […]
Literary Qualities
At the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien deliberately links the trilogy to its predecessor, The Hobbit. He describes the return of Bilbo, […]
Social Sensitivity
In his preface to the trilogy, Tolkien distinguishes between allegory and applicability in literature. While he disclaims having imposed any allegorical significance on his story, […]
Ideas and Topics for Papers
VII TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. How does Tolkien develop the nature of the Black Riders so that their identity as Ringwraiths does not come as […]
Related Titles and Adaptations
The Lord of the Rings continues the story of the ring of invisibility found by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit; it also draws on material […]