The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past (Tolkien Lecture) (Patreon)

'I am not made for perilous quests. I wish I had never seen the Ring! Why did it come to me? Why was I chosen?'

Today we are responding to a great call to adventure. We're exploring the world of J.R.R. Tolkien and questing through his literary influences.

We're talking about marvels, romance, the hero's journey, medieval and Old English poetry, the original pronunciation of Shakespeare, Chaucer, and the Gawain Poet, being a wanderer, allegory vs applicability, and much more.

Timestamps: 

• 0:00 where do great stories begin?
• 3:20 feasts, marvels, & quests
• 5:00 romance & the oral tradition
• 6:00 the truth in fireside tales
• 8:30 migration in Middle Earth
• 9:30 ‘this tale grew in the telling’
• 11:00 the opening of Beowulf
• 12:00 on the great vowel shift
• 14:30 pre-standard orthography
• 16:00 on letters no longer in use
• 17:00 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• 18:00 Chaucer, fertility & journeys
• 19:00 witnessing the beheading game
• 22:00 Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain
• 23:00 the alliterative poetic tradition
• 25:00 ‘a long-expected party’
• 28:00 the structure for the hero’s journey
• 29:00 zone of proximal development
• 30:00 refusing the call in The Hobbit
• 31:00 when the date of departure looms
• 32:00 ‘old paths seemed too well trodden’
• 33:00 the Old English poem ‘The Seafarer’
• 34:00 one road being like a great river
• 35:30 on being forced to take a journey
• 37:00 finding life advice in old lore
• 38:00 how J.R.R. Tolkien read Shakespeare
• 39:30 ‘Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came’
• 41:00 analysing the name of Gandalf
• 43:00 ‘not all those who wander are lost’
• 45:00 the influence of Sir Orfeo on the elves
• 46:00 ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’
• 47:00 deriving sense from the sound of words
• 49:00 Tolkien infuriated by his publishers
• 51:00 how to create the illusion of historicity
• 53:00 on journeying into a dark forest
• 56:00 our meeting with Tom Bombadil
• 59:00 listening to our soul in nature
• 1:02:00 travelling a dangerous road of trials
• 1:04:00 the world of knightly proving
• 1:05:00 seperation anxiety & rebirth crisis
• 1:06:00 ‘I wish it need not have happened…’
• 1:07:00 ‘I am not made for perilous quests’
• 1:09:00 moral tales & allegory vs applicability
• 1:12:00 anachronistic attitude towards power
• 1:14:00 appreciating Victorian Arthuriana
• 1:17:00 seeing our lives in Tolkien’s world
• 1:18:00 drawing from our own inner guide
• 1:19:00 going on our personal hero’s journey
• 1:23:00 reading for our next discussion
• 1:24:00 some questions for you

Areas to Explore:

• Tolkien's Translations: I highly recommend exploring Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. Luckily for us, we have Professor Tolkien's own translations of these classic stories. You might also wish to check out his translation and commentary of Beowulf too. 
• The Hero's Journey: In addition to reading Joseph Campbell's influential writings on the 'departure' stage of the hero's journey, you might also find his opening essay on myth and dream in The Hero with a Thousand Faces to be illuminating.
• Poetry Appreciation: You may fancy following up some of the poetry we alighted upon in our discussion: 'The Seafarer' (translated by Ezra Pound), 'Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came' by Robert Browning, 'Morte d'Arthur' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. If you're interested in Arthuriana, and would like to see Professor Tolkien's rendering of alliterative meter, check out 'The Fall of Arthur'.
• Original Pronunciation: Here is Ben Crystal reciting Shakespeare's sonnet 116 in the original pronunciation. And here is Colin Gibbings reciting Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in the original pronunciation. 
• Following Tolkien's Inspiration: The Finnish Kalevala and the stories of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm make for a very rewarding side journey from the world of Tolkien.
• For Your Viewing Pleasure: A tremendous rare bookstore is showing off their first editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit here and here. And fans of the film adaptations of Tolkien's great work might enjoy this interview with Peter Jackson.
• Film Appreciation: Whilst on the subject of film adaptation, we might find it rewarding to complement our reading by comparing the 1978 animated version of the work (here) and the Peter Jackson films (here).
• Art Appreciation: The Pre-Raphaelites explored the Arthurian stories in a powerful and enormously influential way. If you're interested in learning more about the movement, I recommend Taschen's introductory book.
• Expansive reading goal: For an optional reading assignment, why not treat yourself to one of the texts we referenced in our discussion? Pick the one that most interests you, and enjoy exploring a Tolkien-inspired rabbit hole. The great man himself would have doubtlessly been very happy with that!

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will leverage up to and including the second chapter of volume two in The Fellowship of the Ring ('The Council of Elrond'), which takes us up to page 271 in the HarperCollins paperback edition.

Questions for You:

1) What can old stories teach us about today? And what element of Tolkien’s work do you most relate to?

2) Do you share Tolkien's love of language? Do you have any personal favourite words? 

3) What would help you on your own quest? What is your heart telling you?

And please do let us know your favourite passages, lines, and ideas from your reading.

Happy reading, fellow questers!