... Of the Ruins of Middle Earth and How to Read Tolkien

[Rich H]

Hi All,

I found this on Youtube and wanted to share it with you all: http://youtu.be/lXAvF9p8nmM

Be warned, it's a full hour in length, so you need to take a look at it when you have enough time. Stick with it, it has some really nice observations in it throughout and, I think, does a pretty good job of explaining why many people find reading Lord of the Rings to be qualitatively different than other modern works of the 20th Century. It was useful for me in quantifying why I go back to it again and again and why it 'speaks' to me in ways other novels don't, but I can also see it's use for others that may have dismissed Tolkien - perhaps they should watch it too.

The last 5 or 10 minutes are very touching as well and the presenter's, Michael Drout, passion for the book really comes through; it's also quite sad when you think of Tolkien's life and is very poignant when he talks about the monastery and Alfred the Great - if you watch it, you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing and hope it's of interest to people.

[PipeSmoker]

Well, I'm back.

[Rocmistro]

The emphasis on nostalgia was particularly poignant. Sadly for those critics, Rich, there's something there that you are either capable of understanding, or you're not. I can't imagine explaining Lord of the Rings to a professional critic, hoping they 'get it'. For me, the understanding came at a very early age.

I remember watching John Boorman's "Excalibur" at the age of like...7, maybe 8, and my heart broke out of understanding when Arthur declares:

"The fellowship was a brief beginning; a fair time that cannot be forgotten. And because it will not be forgotten, that fair time may come again."

Nostalgia and hope.

All we who read and work and play in Middle-earth are King Arthur, laboring to not forget, so that that fair time may come again.

[Rich H]

"The fellowship was a brief beginning; a fair time that cannot be forgotten. And because it will not be forgotten, that fair time may come again."

Arthur doing the speaking to Guinevere:

"I have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when I owe no more to the future and can be just a man... that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that I am your husband.

It is a dream I have..."

Really gets me, that one, right in the heart.

There are louds of wonderful lines from LotR as well but I thought the linked video was of a more academic interest.

[Glorelendil]

Well, I'm back.

I think the human race can be divided into two groups: those who read the above quote and feel sadness and awe in the face of the yawning chasm of history, and those who merely look puzzled.

P.S. Since Arthur has come up, one of the few works of fiction that can compete with Tolkien for sorry at the inevitability of tragedy is Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy. It's by far my favorite version, which is maybe ironic because it's the only non-anachronistic one of which I know. There isn't even any "magic" in it, just trickery.

[aramis]

Well, I'm back.

I think the human race can be divided into two groups: those who read the above quote and feel sadness and awe in the face of the yawning chasm of history, and those who merely look puzzled.

P.S. Since Arthur has come up, one of the few works of fiction that can compete with Tolkien for sorry at the inevitability of tragedy is Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy. It's by far my favorite version, which is maybe ironic because it's the only non-anachronistic one of which I know. There isn't even any "magic" in it, just trickery.

There is a third group - those who hope with him that he can escape the throne and just be Ar∂ur Gwynhafrsbóndi, and see it as not a tragedy, but merely a trial. (One we know he fails in continuity, but which, in gaming, he need not...)

[Glorelendil]

Well, I'm back.

I think the human race can be divided into two groups: those who read the above quote and feel sadness and awe in the face of the yawning chasm of history, and those who merely look puzzled.

P.S. Since Arthur has come up, one of the few works of fiction that can compete with Tolkien for sorry at the inevitability of tragedy is Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy. It's by far my favorite version, which is maybe ironic because it's the only non-anachronistic one of which I know. There isn't even any "magic" in it, just trickery.

There is a third group - those who hope with him that he can escape the throne and just be Ar∂ur Gwynhafrsbóndi, and see it as not a tragedy, but merely a trial. (One we know he fails in continuity, but which, in gaming, he need not...)

Did King Arthur also say, "Well, I'm back."?

[Dunheved]

Hi All,

I found this on Youtube and wanted to share it with you all: http://youtu.be/lXAvF9p8nmM

Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing and hope it's of interest to people.

Thanks Rich: it really is worth the hour.

As I listened to repeated use of the phrase 'broken references' i.e. references to areas and event just outside those of the contemporary characters I thought the basic premise of TOR game system is to move within the gaps of those broken references. We are at liberty to do this of course as all the stories of Middle Earth were not all seen by the characters.

What is particularly strong about both the game system & the contributors to this forum is the sympathy and respect delivered by them all to the world of Tolkien's books. It helps keep the game & the system in the corect ethos. Well done all the writers and illustrators of the game.

[jacksarge]

That is a great lecture, very moving and scholarly. I like he way he focuses on the theme of ruins and the very non-soppy type of nostalgia that creates the backdrop for LOTR.

[farinal]

Well, I'm back.

Excellent lecture, thanks for sharing Rich.