Why I Will Not Be Writing About “The Rings of Power”

Amazon has now fully released the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.  This is the first cinematic portrayal of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology since the release of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies in 2014.  The series has unleashed a torment of reviews, both fiercely positive and … Continue reading Why I Will Not Be Writing About “The Rings of Power”

“Influence”:  Tolkien’s Guide to Non-Plagiarism

In glancing over the posts I have published over the last five months, it appears I have accidentally written a series on specific elements of mythology that Tolkien incorporated into his work.  No doubt there will be more of these in future (the material is vast), but I have paused to articulate how he manages … Continue reading “Influence”:  Tolkien’s Guide to Non-Plagiarism

Similarities Between the Dissimilar, or What Happens When You Read Homer and Tolkien at the Same Time

Although J.R.R. Tolkien avoided taking inspiration from classical Greek mythology, there is one aspect of his writing which I cannot help but see as being influenced by Homer.  Never yet in all my reading of mythology have I encountered an epic as vast and complete as the Iliad and the Odyssey. Many mythologies, though extensive … Continue reading Similarities Between the Dissimilar, or What Happens When You Read Homer and Tolkien at the Same Time

On “Skrike”

Here, friends, is the post on skriking, which I mentioned bore writing in Rereading The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, Part 1. Prior to writing this post, I had not the faintest idea of what skrike meant, though I could glean a general sense from its context in The Hobbit. As for its etymology ...

“The Feminine Principle in Tolkien,” by Melanie Rawls

“The Feminine Principle in Tolkien” is an essay I happened upon about a month ago.  I was meandering through various byways---an article to a book to an article on that book which mentioned this essay---and discovered it like one finds a pretty pebble on the road.  It appeared at a particularly timely moment, as in … Continue reading “The Feminine Principle in Tolkien,” by Melanie Rawls