J. R. R. Tolkien speaks to John Ezard about his extraordinarily popular Lord of the Rings series of fantasy novels. The author touches upon their genesis and themes, his fondness for invented languages – and how they are often misinterpreted.
This clip is from Release: Tolkien in Oxford. Originally broadcast 30 March, 1968.
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I wonder what he would have thought of PeterJacksons Trilogy. I know his son doesn't like it but I wonder if he could see it what he would think? He seems very down to earth and not full of himself in anyway. Just a thoughtful, reflective and gentle soul. Love this man.
Never seen him before! Yes, that makes perfect sense, all of it.
This man is the reason I still live and it is beautiful to hear his voice. I wish he was still here and I wish Christopher was still here. They will always be treasured always
As same as the period of 金庸/查良鏞!
“I eventually became a very ordinary scholar..”
His modesty always makes my heart smile. ❤
Musings about death were 'the keyspring of The Lord of the Rings'. Unusual expression!
THE GOAT
It looks like Arabic but written left to right.
4:05 looks alot like arabic/Persian languages
you can hear the wisdom in his voice.
Was all a bit far fetched
is that not the Arabic alphabet?
While I do love the spin-offs of his writing, games like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War, the trilogy of movies (and I guess the Hobbit a little too, sure), I still greatly appreciate how much effort went into writing the world of Arda and Middle-earth itself.
While adaptations never fully indulge in the lore given to them, always bastardizing it in a multitude of ways so they can create their own story out of the bones of someone else's work, it is a lot of fun to have a question that the movie, game or show's writers didn't explain in their haste, and be able to just look it up. Because you can be certain that if Tolkien did not think of it, he left plenty of breadcrumbs for fans to help suss it out.
And I love that. It makes the world feel more complete… and when you know these things, while it can be frustrating to see some detail changed that throws you off, it can also be quite satisfying to see a name mentioned and be like "ahh yes, I know who that is" and associate that character or item or place's history with what the game/movie/show is telling you.
I am not much of a reader. I wish I could be, but my brain simply will not allow me to focus on paper long enough to read a full story in a reasonable amount of time without forgetting everything, losing attention or otherwise making the experience a waste of time. Never understood why when I was younger and it made my life hell when I had to do reading assignments, but now that I'm older I realize it's almost certainly ADHD. That being said, I may look into audiobooks for his works, because I honestly love what the man has created so much. It is a fantasy universe unlike any other and no matter how much it's bastardized in the future, I doubt they will ever manage to spoil his work… it's just too impressive. They will certainly try, though.
Hearing him talk and harken I could hear the entire fellowship speak through him. Middle Earth and it's inhabitants exist with the same life its inspiration and wonder gives us.
He’s forgot more than we know
A Professor once asked me: "Name any person, real or imagined, who you would wish to share a meal with." I immediateky responded "Tolkein!" without ANY hesitation. An afternoon with this man would truly be a stupendous experience! Such genuine kindness, something not easily found nowadays.
How he'd turn in his grave to see who his decants have sold the rights to his universe too… rip Tolkien – a fan keeping it original when it comes to middle earth. Never watched an episode of rings of power and never will 🙏
what an amazing mind .
Always found the analysis of Tolkien's work much more interesting than the work itself. I found LOTR to be frightfully boring, but the inspiration for many parts of it, and his life, are fascinating.