The Lord of the Rings: One Ring to Rule Them All (Tolkien Lecture) (Patreon)

'The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone, and I must follow, if I can...'

Today our exploration of the world of J.R.R. Tolkien continues. And we're talking about medieval vs modern warfare, Tolkien's faith, nature, the oral tradition, ring mythology, temptation, evil, and much more.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 ‘one ring to rule them all’
• 2:00 ‘the road goes ever on and on’
• 5:00 is the journey about the destination?
• 7:00 Tolkien’s implores us to start walking
• 8:00 what happens at the journey’s end?
• 9:00 guides, companions & lore masters
• 11:00 Tolkien’s love of calligraphy
• 13:00 a celebration of Samwise Gamgee
• 15:00 being aware of the tale we’re living
• 17:00 ‘I want to hear more about Sam’
• 18:00 do we get to choose our story?
• 19:00 how to live the great books
• 20:00 the consolatory power of stories
• 21:00 Tolkien’s female characters
• 22:00 the tale of Beren and Luthien
• 23:00 telling stories in dangerous times
• 25:00 on the stories lost to the ages
• 26:00 oral tradition vs written stories
• 27:00 J.R.R. Tolkien & John Keats
• 28:00 how to fall in love with poetry
• 29:00 the influence of Tolkien’s faith
• 31:00 Tolkien and the Great War
• 35:00 names as portals of history
• 37:00 being mindful of our many names
• 39:00 how to read scriptural literature
• 40:00 religious readings of Tolkien’s work
• 42:00 is every story about a fall?
• 43:00 on the tales that are as old as time
• 44:00 Tolkien’s construction of names
• 46:00 the language of children’s literature
• 47:00 epics vs lullabies & nursery rhymes
• 48:00 The Hobbit, LOTR & The Silmarillion
• 50:00 story, consolation, and eucatastrophe
• 52:00 on our awareness of the moon
• 53:00 mixed company at the Prancing Pony
• 56:00 history as a chorus of voices
• 58:00 agricultural metaphors we live by
• 59:00 Tolkien’s ecological concerns
• 1:01:00 medieval vs modern warfare
• 1:05:00 displaced evil spirits & temptation
• 1:08:00 writer as sub-creator of Catholic work
• 1:11:00 ‘lead us not into temptation…’
• 1:13:00 ‘the ring has passed on…’
• 1:14:00 shapelessness & the sublime
• 1:16:00 on the symbolism of the ring
• 1:18:00 Tolkien vs Wagner’s mythology
• 1:19:00 the opening of the Nibelungenlied
• 1:20:00 the inspiration for the ring
• 1:21:00 at the council of Elrond
• 1:24:00 our next reading assignment

Areas to Explore:

• Recommended Audiobooks: Tolkien makes a tremendous walking companion. If you fancy taking the story on your wanders through nature, I recommend a taste-testing the Andy Serkis and Rob Inglis narrations.
• The Monster and the Critics: You might find the essay 'On Fairy-Stories' in this volume to be an enjoyable and illuminating rabbit hole to follow.
• Tolkien and the Great War: John Garth's biography is one of the greatest works written on Tolkien. I highly recommend it for those who want a deeper understanding of the man behind the myth.
• The Inklings: Humphrey Carpenter, another great biographer of Tolkien, has put together something special in this book, which details the friendship and 'Inkling' meetings of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and fellow writers.
• Beren and Lúthien: If you found yourself intrigued by this story, you may wish to check out this beautiful volume.
• Film Appreciation: This film from 2019, starring Nicholas Holt as Tolkien, gives a wonderful insight into the great writer's life.
• The Poetic Edda: If you're interested in exploring some of the stories that exerted the greatest influence on Tolkien, I recommend this edition of Old Norse mythological stories.
• Poetry Appreciation: This volume of First World War poetry really brings the brutal reality of warfare to life. I recommend the poetry of Wilfred Owen to get started. If you would like to explore more poetry, Keats, Wordsworth, and Tennyson would make for great complementary writers.
• Music Appreciation: Tolkien rejected the comparison between his work and Wagner's Ring Cycle. There are parallels, but that is due to both artists drawing from the same sources. For a humorous introduction to Wagner's opera cycle, you might enjoy singer and comedian's Anna Russell's explanation here.
• Expansive reading goal: If you followed the call to explore one of the influential works we referenced in our last discussion, let us know which one you went for and what you discovered.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will leverage the remainder of The Fellowship of the Ring, which goes through to page 407 in the HarperCollins paperback edition.

Questions for You:

1) Do we get to choose our own story?

2) What does heroism mean to you?

3) What do great works of fantasy give us?

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

Happy reading, fellow questers!