J. R. R. Tolkien and the Battle of the Somme (WW2, war)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Apropos of the recent anniversary, I thought this might interest some of you. The author wrote "A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918.”
Many people believed "The Lord of the Rings" was some parable about WW2, since it came out soon after the war. Tolkien has always denied that. For WW1, certainly it personally impacted him, but I also doubt it was that inspirational to his concept of Mordor. I read years ago that, geographically, Mordor more closely resembles the mountainous areas of South Africa where he grew up and those that studied his fiction seems to agree that was his inspiration.
The medieval-era battles he described in his books, of course, could not be any more different than the trench warfare he experienced in WW1.
Many people believed "The Lord of the Rings" was some parable about WW2, since it came out soon after the war. Tolkien has always denied that. For WW1, certainly it personally impacted him, but I also doubt it was that inspirational to his concept of Mordor. I read years ago that, geographically, Mordor more closely resembles the mountainous areas of South Africa where he grew up and those that studied his fiction seems to agree that was his inspiration.
The medieval-era battles he described in his books, of course, could not be any more different than the trench warfare he experienced in WW1.
It is true that his experiences in WW1 helped shape his writing and served as inspiration. This BBC article does a nice job with highlighting some of the items...
The section on the Nazgul is very interesting as was that the "Dead Marshes of Mordor" were inspired by the battlefields of northern France after the Somme.
This article paints some of the parallels to his earlier works where dragons were orc built mechanical beasts with clear inspiration from the tanks of WW1. It also touches on how Samwise Gamgee was inspired by the regular soldier from the country.
Finally, this article does a nice job summing up the inspiration...
Tolkien later wrote of The Lord of the Rings: “Personally I do not think that either war ... had any influence upon either the plot or the manner of its unfolding.” Yet his foreword to the book makes clear reference to the experience of the First World War and the deaths of Smith and Gilson, as if to say to critics: that was my war, and that is where you must look for an originating influence. His real objection was to the kind of reading that seeks to map plot points with real historical events; and I agree that it would be futile and reductive to try and identify, for example, each of the four hobbit heroes with the four T.C.B.S. members. Yet it is plain as a pikestaff that his own memory of the T.C.B.S. being scattered across the battlefront, cut off from each other in their worst ordeal, infuses his account of Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin as each takes his path through fear and peril.
It is true that his experiences in WW1 helped shape his writing and served as inspiration. This BBC article does a nice job with highlighting some of the items...
The section on the Nazgul is very interesting as was that the "Dead Marshes of Mordor" were inspired by the battlefields of northern France after the Somme.
This article paints some of the parallels to his earlier works where dragons were orc built mechanical beasts with clear inspiration from the tanks of WW1. It also touches on how Samwise Gamgee was inspired by the regular soldier from the country.
Finally, this article does a nice job summing up the inspiration...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
