Mithrandir
March 18th,2004, 03:44 AM
this is my research paper i'm not done with it but you can checkout and make your own opinions...
Middle Earth is the continent on J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of his tales take place. Middle Earth was thought to be the most northern continent of the Earth back at time, as Tolkien’s imagination pictured it. This meaning, that Middle Earth was nothing more but J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination.
JRR Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (part of what is now South Africa). He was a major scholar of the English language; he was also twice a Professor of Anglo-Saxon, or the ‘Old English’ at the University of Oxford. During World War I, in 1915, Tolkien was awarded a First Class Honors degree in English Language and Literature from Exeter, and was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers. In June he was sent to France and saw action on the Somme. He was sent back to England suffering from trench fever. After taking First Class Honors at Oxford in 1915, Tolkien enlisted in the New Army, the volunteer army that ‘replaced’ Britain's small professional army, which had been ‘destroyed’ early in the war. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 13th Lancashire Fusiliers and eventually was appointed battalion signaling officer. Tolkien's battalion was sent to France in June 1916. He had three weeks of training at the British camp at Etaples, during which he was transferred to the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers. As battalion signaling officer, Tolkien was responsible for maintaining communication between officers in the field and the Army staff responsible for commanding the battle. Finally, when all the training was done and everything was ready his battalion was sent to the front to join the great joint British-French attack that was supposed to break through the German lines, later on that attack was known as the Battle of the Somme.
Not only the Great War affected J.R.R. Tolkien but even with the action he had seen, Tolkien was never wounded. His friends were not that lucky, one was killed on July 1st; another was killed in December. The deaths of his friends affected him greatly, probably and most likely inspiring him and giving him that ‘anger’ for him to visualize the world of Middle Earth.
J.R.R. Tolkien was called, or identified as a “traumatized author” by Tom Shippey in Lord of the Rings the Two Towers Extended DVD Edition, and Tolkien had to show “Explanation of evil they had gone through” (ibid) it by writing Fantasy stories, but for some reason Tolkien could not express it by writing a History story, or realistic fiction; so Tolkien made this world of Middle Earth as a result of the all that he had suffered and starting to bring Medieval Literature back. C.S. Lewis, Tolkien’s friend, not only in life but professionally, they also both attended WWI together in the British Army. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien decided to think and create a story through the entire trauma they had gone through; that proofs the fact that Middle Earth never existed, and was created by Tolkien’s imagination and trauma. Tolkien always denied that he created the world of Middle Earth, then The Hobbit and eventually The Lord of the Rings. A good example of what Tolkien has seen in WWI expressed in his work of Lord of The Rings is the Dead Marshes, which is a big marsh with bodies laying everywhere of a great battle that had occurred hundreds of millions of years ago, which is a pretty comparable scene to WWI. Chris Armstrong and Steven Gertz wrote in Christian History:
“Tolkien began creating the legends of Middle-earth on the front lines of World War I, where he served as an officer. He conceived The Silmarillion, he once said, in "grimy canteens, at lectures in cold fogs, in huts full of blasphemy and smut, or by candle light in bell-tents, even some down in dugouts under shell fire." Some of his early drafts of Middle-earth's legends are on the backs of official military documents.”
That pretty much means that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote and thought about the world of Middle Earth while he was on war, may be start writing the story as he was living it.
Some say that Middle Earth did exist and that was a part of Europe ages ago. It was said to be an old Anglo-Saxon term for the magical world inhabited by people in the first millennium
“But now there is another remarkable story to be told: Middle-earth really existed. Historical research has revealed that, stretching from Old England to Scandinavia and across to Western Europe, there arose about two thousand years ago a largely forgotten civilization which foreshadowed Tolkien's imagined world” (Pan Macmillan, 1)
An encyclopedia denies that by saying,
“Middle-earth is a fictitious land created by J. R. R. Tolkien where the action of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion takes place. Tolkien wrote extensively about the mythology and history of the land, which form the back-story for these stories.” (Encyclopedia 4U, 1)
This also denies that Middle Earth existed, “Middle-earth is the continent on J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of his tales take place.” (Wikipedia, 1), this was taken also from another encyclopedia. Tolkien might have taken ideas from old cultures and civilizations but never said that that was it, for example “J. R. R. Tolkien was also inspired by this fragment: Eala earendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended. Hail Eärendel, brightest of angels / above the middle-earth sent unto men.” (ibid, 1) That is a part taken from one of the poems of Beowulf, where he took many ideas from, which proves the fact that Middle Earth was made up of many ideas from many places and civilizations but was never real, it was always a recompilation of myths and names. Tolkien also created the world of Middle Earth to have a tale story, or folk story for the soil of England itself. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to his friend Milton Waldman in 1951 prior to the publishing of The Silmarillion “There was Greek, and Celtic, and Romance, Germanic, Scandinavian, and Finnish (which greatly affected me); but nothing English, save impoverished chap-book stuff.”(The Silmarillion, xii) what that means is that the thing that there was not a good story that ‘represented’ England or was written by an English author; so that is another reason why Tolkien created the world of Middle Earth, making it not real or fictitious and nothing more but Tolkien’s imagination therefore. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had a conversation “they were talking about the fact that they felt a frustration that they couldn’t pick up a book they wanted to read. They came to the conclusion that in the end may be they had to write the book they wanted to read” (Lord of the Rings the Two Towers Extended DVD Edition), that may also mean that Tolkien made up the world of Middle, Earth just to read what he wanted to read, in which he later on made stories for his children.
Middle Earth is the continent on J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of his tales take place. Middle Earth was thought to be the most northern continent of the Earth back at time, as Tolkien’s imagination pictured it. This meaning, that Middle Earth was nothing more but J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination.
JRR Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (part of what is now South Africa). He was a major scholar of the English language; he was also twice a Professor of Anglo-Saxon, or the ‘Old English’ at the University of Oxford. During World War I, in 1915, Tolkien was awarded a First Class Honors degree in English Language and Literature from Exeter, and was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers. In June he was sent to France and saw action on the Somme. He was sent back to England suffering from trench fever. After taking First Class Honors at Oxford in 1915, Tolkien enlisted in the New Army, the volunteer army that ‘replaced’ Britain's small professional army, which had been ‘destroyed’ early in the war. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 13th Lancashire Fusiliers and eventually was appointed battalion signaling officer. Tolkien's battalion was sent to France in June 1916. He had three weeks of training at the British camp at Etaples, during which he was transferred to the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers. As battalion signaling officer, Tolkien was responsible for maintaining communication between officers in the field and the Army staff responsible for commanding the battle. Finally, when all the training was done and everything was ready his battalion was sent to the front to join the great joint British-French attack that was supposed to break through the German lines, later on that attack was known as the Battle of the Somme.
Not only the Great War affected J.R.R. Tolkien but even with the action he had seen, Tolkien was never wounded. His friends were not that lucky, one was killed on July 1st; another was killed in December. The deaths of his friends affected him greatly, probably and most likely inspiring him and giving him that ‘anger’ for him to visualize the world of Middle Earth.
J.R.R. Tolkien was called, or identified as a “traumatized author” by Tom Shippey in Lord of the Rings the Two Towers Extended DVD Edition, and Tolkien had to show “Explanation of evil they had gone through” (ibid) it by writing Fantasy stories, but for some reason Tolkien could not express it by writing a History story, or realistic fiction; so Tolkien made this world of Middle Earth as a result of the all that he had suffered and starting to bring Medieval Literature back. C.S. Lewis, Tolkien’s friend, not only in life but professionally, they also both attended WWI together in the British Army. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien decided to think and create a story through the entire trauma they had gone through; that proofs the fact that Middle Earth never existed, and was created by Tolkien’s imagination and trauma. Tolkien always denied that he created the world of Middle Earth, then The Hobbit and eventually The Lord of the Rings. A good example of what Tolkien has seen in WWI expressed in his work of Lord of The Rings is the Dead Marshes, which is a big marsh with bodies laying everywhere of a great battle that had occurred hundreds of millions of years ago, which is a pretty comparable scene to WWI. Chris Armstrong and Steven Gertz wrote in Christian History:
“Tolkien began creating the legends of Middle-earth on the front lines of World War I, where he served as an officer. He conceived The Silmarillion, he once said, in "grimy canteens, at lectures in cold fogs, in huts full of blasphemy and smut, or by candle light in bell-tents, even some down in dugouts under shell fire." Some of his early drafts of Middle-earth's legends are on the backs of official military documents.”
That pretty much means that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote and thought about the world of Middle Earth while he was on war, may be start writing the story as he was living it.
Some say that Middle Earth did exist and that was a part of Europe ages ago. It was said to be an old Anglo-Saxon term for the magical world inhabited by people in the first millennium
“But now there is another remarkable story to be told: Middle-earth really existed. Historical research has revealed that, stretching from Old England to Scandinavia and across to Western Europe, there arose about two thousand years ago a largely forgotten civilization which foreshadowed Tolkien's imagined world” (Pan Macmillan, 1)
An encyclopedia denies that by saying,
“Middle-earth is a fictitious land created by J. R. R. Tolkien where the action of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion takes place. Tolkien wrote extensively about the mythology and history of the land, which form the back-story for these stories.” (Encyclopedia 4U, 1)
This also denies that Middle Earth existed, “Middle-earth is the continent on J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional ancient Earth where most of his tales take place.” (Wikipedia, 1), this was taken also from another encyclopedia. Tolkien might have taken ideas from old cultures and civilizations but never said that that was it, for example “J. R. R. Tolkien was also inspired by this fragment: Eala earendel engla beorhtast / ofer middangeard monnum sended. Hail Eärendel, brightest of angels / above the middle-earth sent unto men.” (ibid, 1) That is a part taken from one of the poems of Beowulf, where he took many ideas from, which proves the fact that Middle Earth was made up of many ideas from many places and civilizations but was never real, it was always a recompilation of myths and names. Tolkien also created the world of Middle Earth to have a tale story, or folk story for the soil of England itself. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to his friend Milton Waldman in 1951 prior to the publishing of The Silmarillion “There was Greek, and Celtic, and Romance, Germanic, Scandinavian, and Finnish (which greatly affected me); but nothing English, save impoverished chap-book stuff.”(The Silmarillion, xii) what that means is that the thing that there was not a good story that ‘represented’ England or was written by an English author; so that is another reason why Tolkien created the world of Middle Earth, making it not real or fictitious and nothing more but Tolkien’s imagination therefore. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had a conversation “they were talking about the fact that they felt a frustration that they couldn’t pick up a book they wanted to read. They came to the conclusion that in the end may be they had to write the book they wanted to read” (Lord of the Rings the Two Towers Extended DVD Edition), that may also mean that Tolkien made up the world of Middle, Earth just to read what he wanted to read, in which he later on made stories for his children.