Lord of the Rings

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

We've already had a lot of discussion on The Lord of the Rings on other threads, but as per Matt's suggestion I'm starting one up so we can discuss the films and/or books without overtaking another thread. (I'm feeling extremely hobbitish these days, even more so than usual, and have a habit of somehow always steering the discussion in that direction... ) So, Tolkienites of the board unite!!
Erin

 

[HeraLirambar]

Huzzah! What's the first topic?

 

[jediX]

Perhaps someone knows what species the dragons the wraiths ride are?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Perhaps someone knows what species the dragons the wraiths ride are?

I forget the name of the Nazgul’s winged steeds, but they're not actually supposed to be dragons I think.

 

[HeraLirambar]

I like to call 'em "Wings" because in the second movie, Gollum refers to them as "Wraiths on Wings"

 

[anathema]

Didn't they get a namecheck in the third film?

 

[Beauregard]

I hear that these books are like Christian meterphores, is that right? As a general rule my Dad and Mum stay far away from any film with Wizards or Witches in, this has those dosn't it? Just trying to get a few things stright.

 

[anathema]

I hear that these books are like Christian meterphores, is that right? As a general rule my Dad and Mum stay far away from any film with Wizards or Witches in, this has those dosn't it? Just trying to get a few things stright.

Wizards, yes. But I think the books you have in mind are the Narnia Chronicles, which are metaphorical in that way ;-)

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

The Chronicles of Narnia have much more direct comparisons to Christianity, but there are certainly Christian themes to be found in Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was a very devout Roman Catholic, and that carried over into his writing, but he really wrote the book for himself, never thinking much about a potential audience. He and Lewis were disappointed that no one seemed to write the kinds of books they wanted to read, so they decided they'd have to write them themselves. Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings as the Great Myth of England, which he felt his country was lacking. He was inspired by Anglo-Saxon legends, Norse myths, and all sorts of things, but the resulting tale was truly his own. Anyway, the Lord of the Rings is generally highly regarded in the Christian community.
Erin

 

[Baby Animal]

You can definately see a lot of Christianity in LOTR, but a metaphor was the farthest thing from Tolkien's mind. In fact, Tolkien hated metaphors and thought CS Lewis' work was too hokey (for lack of a better word.) Yeah, Tolkien and Lewis were contemporaries and were even in the same "book club", but they had 2 different styles.

Could you imagine being in that book club and getting to hear Tolkien and CS Lewis read new chapters to their books as they wrote them? Oh man...