j.r.r. tolkien - klett · the hobbit was published a year later in 1937. but it was published with...

J.R.R. Tolkien

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Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart Bildquellen: iStockphoto 1

Before you read

Which book is being described here? Read the sentences one at a time and see how quickly you

can guess the book.

1. This book was published in the 1950s.

2. This book is one of the best-selling books ever printed.

3. It is actually a sequel.

4. It was written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

5. It was published as a series of three books.

6. The story was filmed as three separate films.

7. The films won a total of 17 Oscars.

8. The films cost over $280 million and took over eight years to make.

9. The films are among the top ten most successful films ever.

10. Frodo and Gandalf are the heroes of the story.

The books

“A masterpiece!” was how The Lord of the

Rings was described on publication and

it was very popular even before the films

were made. Sales figures are not always

reliable or even available, but The Lord of

the Rings is acclaimed as the best-selling

novel ever. It has been successful since

it was first published in the 1950s, and

since the films came out, it has exper-

ienced another wave of popularity. The

story takes place in another world called

Middle-earth which can seem as real as

our own.

But who created the world and wrote the

stories? Where did his ideas come from?

J.R.R. Tolkien

When John Ronald Reuel Tolkien died in 1973, aged 81, he was a famous (and wealthy) author,

but his life had not always been a bed of roses. His father died when he was three, and his

mother when he was twelve. He fell in love with a woman three years older than himself when he

was 16 but was later forbidden to contact her. He finally contacted her when he came of age at 21

to find she was engaged to another man. That was when his luck started to change! Edith Pratt

broke off her engagement and later married Ronald (the name he was called by).

J.R.R. Tolkien



But more ill-fortune was to come. Before Ronald was 25, all but one of his closest friends had

been killed in the trenches of World War I. He himself fought there, too, until he caught trench

fever and returned home. As with most authors, many of his early experiences play a role in his

books.

After Tolkien’s father died, the family stayed with their mother’s relatives and then moved to a

small village near Birmingham. Tolkien’s mother taught him and his brother at home. She taught

him to love languages and myths and while he was still a teenager he started to create his own

languages. He soon realised that invented languages had to be based in a place and a culture –

just like real languages. It was for this reason that he started writing his own myths and stories.

When Tolkien’s mother died, he was looked after by his guardian. This Catholic priest made sure

that Tolkien received a good education, enabling him to study English at Oxford University. He

was actually the man who forbade Tolkien to contact Edith – she was a Protestant after all! At

Oxford Tolkien also learnt Finnish and Welsh, which were to become the basis for the language of

the elves in The Lord of the Rings.

After working as a professor at the University of Leeds for several years, Tolkien returned to

Oxford as a professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1925. He lived there in a small terraced house with his

wife and children for the next forty years.

Where did the stories come from?

Tolkien was marking an English student’s exam when he came across an empty page. For some

reason Tolkien wrote “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” on the page, the hobbit being

a creation of his imagination. A while later he considered his own sentence, wondering what

kind of creature a hobbit could be and why he would live in a hole. With time he created a story

around his sentence which he would tell his children at bedtime. By 1936 he had written a book.

The novel reached a publisher via some friends and the publisher gave it to his son to read.

Stanley Unwin, aged 10, thoroughly enjoyed the book and said that even without pictures he was

sure that all children would enjoy it. The Hobbit was published a year later in 1937.

But it was published with illustrations – those of the author! J.R.R. Tolkien was a capable amateur

artist. He drew all the pictures which were included in the books. These pictures later also

influenced the design of the films.

After publication, The Hobbit received rave reviews. It was so successful that his publisher asked

him to write a sequel. That sequel became The Lord of the Rings. It took over twelve years for the

author to finish his new epic and it took another five years before it was ready for the public. On

account of a paper shortage and to keep the price down, Tolkien’s novel was published after the

war in three parts. The final book in the trilogy The Return of the King was finally published in

1955.

J.R.R. Tolkien



A good book?

“A masterpiece!” was how W. H. Auden, a famous writer, described The Lord of the Rings. On the

other hand, a New York reviewer said it would be the “death to literature”, mainly because of the

style of the language. The books’ reception was mixed, although most reviews were overwhelm-

ingly positive. Later, after it had been published in paperback, the novel became a bestseller and

has remained

popular until today.

In 2003 a BBC

survey named The

Lord of the Rings the

“nation’s best-loved

book”. Other sur-

veys in other coun-

tries have produced

similar results since

then.

So why are the

books still so popu-

lar? The books are

epic, high-fantasy

novels and although

they have made that genre more popular, they weren’t the first such novels to be published. On the

surface of it the plot is about some hobbits who are trying to save their earth (Middle-earth) from

an evil lord by destroying a ring in the mountain where it was made. The hobbits have help from

men, dwarves, elves and a wizard who share some of their adventures and brushes with disaster

on their way through this entirely mythological world. The books, though, are a lot more than the

story of the hobbits’ quest. They are stories of life and friendship; stories of choosing between

good and evil; they are about honour, temptation and deceit. The hobbits were just normal

citizens, not brave heroes looking for adventures, but they made the right decisions when faced

with temptation or evil and in the end they were victorious. C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Lion, the

Witch and the Wardrobe and was a close friend of the author, said that Tolkien’s books were myths

and for Tolkien myths were true. Yes, they were set in fantasy settings, but the ideas and concepts

were all real and true for Tolkien. The books are beautifully written and the characters seem real

and subtly described. However, for most people who love it, The Lord of the Rings is primarily an

amazing and exciting adventure story.

The review in the Sunday Times not long after the novel was published said, “The English-speaking

world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are

going to read them.” Which group do you belong to?

J.R.R. Tolkien



Now it’s your turn.

1. Vocabulary

Read the text again and find other words which mean:

a. something you can trust (adj)

b. rich

c. not allowed

d. bad luck

e. holes in the ground from where people fought

f. a person responsible for a child – not usually his or her parents

g. good at something (adj)

h. to affect something

i. a book or film which follows another

j. a journey to find something

2. Comprehension

a) Read the sentences. Are they true, false or not given?

true false not given

1. Tolkien’s interest in myths and languages came from his mother.

2. Tolkien married the first woman he fell in love with.

3. He started writing his own myths and stories at Oxford University.

4. He fought in World War I.

5. Tolkien was already a professor when he started writing The Hobbit.

6. The Hobbit was Tolkien’s first book.

7. He wrote The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy.

8. The Lord of the Rings was Britain’s most popular novel almost fifty years after it was written.

9. The trilogy is about a man’s quest to save Middle-earth.

10. Tolkien wrote about real characters in his books.

b) Draw a timeline showing Tolkien’s life.

c) Myths are stories which explain the world and the living things in it. Describe why myths were

important for Tolkien.

3. Writing

The Lord of the Rings is Britain’s favourite book. What is your favourite book?

Give a brief summary of it and explain why you like it.

4. Discussion

“Epic quests are usually preferred by boys/men than by girls/women.”

Discuss this statement in class. Do you think it is true? Why? Why not?


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Teacher’s page: J.R.R. Tolkien

Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart Bildquellen: iStockphoto

It has been 60 years since the final book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy was published and only three months since the final film of The Hobbit trilogy was released. Although The Lord of the Rings is the sequel to a book written for children, it was written with an adult readership in mind. Both books are, of course, enjoyed by adults and children, but The Hobbit is particularly humor-ous and easier to enjoy.

Now it’s your turn!1. Vocabulary

Find other words which mean:a) something you can trust (adj) – reliable b) rich – wealthyc) not allowed – forbidden d) bad luck – ill-fortunee) holes in the ground where people fought from - trenchesf) a person responsible for a child – not usually his or her parents - guardiang) good at something (adj) – capableh) to affect something – to influencei) a book or film which follows another – sequelj) a journey to find something – quest

2. Comprehensiona) True/false/not given

true false not given

1. Tolkien’s interest in myths and languages came from his mother. x2. Tolkien married the first woman he fell in love with. x3. He started writing his own myths and stories at Oxford University. x4. He fought in World War I. x5. Tolkien was already a professor when he started writing The Hobbit. x6. The Hobbit was Tolkien’s first book. x7. He wrote The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy. x8. The Lord of the Rings was Britain’s most popular novel almost fifty years after it was written.

x

9. The trilogy is about a man’s quest to save Middle-earth. x10. Tolkien wrote about real characters in his books. x

b) A timeline showing these dates.

1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien was born 1895 – father died1904 – mother died1908 – met Edith Pratt – later to become his wife1914–1917 – many friends died in the trenches1925 – becomes professor at Oxford1936 – finished The Hobbit1937 – The Hobbit published1937 – 1949 – wrote The Lord of the Rings1954 – 1955 – The Lord of the Rings published1973 – Tolkien died

c) Tolkien came to love myths as his mother taught him at home. He later wrote his own mytholo-gy to create a world for the languages he invented. The Lord of the Rings grew out of this mytholo-gy. He believed that myths were a good way to show basic truths more clearly.


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Teacher’s page: J.R.R. Tolkien

Autorin: Pauline Ashworth, Stuttgart Bildquellen: iStockphoto

3. Writing

The students could write a paragraph or two summarising their favourite book and then explain-ing why they like it. If students have problems thinking of a favourite book, they could describe a book which they are studying or have studied at school and then give their opinion of it. This section could be used as a starter for the discussion. The students could compare the boys’ favourite books and the girls’ favourite books and see if there is any significant difference be-tween them.

4. Discussion

This could become an emotional debate, as some students will probably agree and some strongly disagree with the statement. The students should stay rational and maybe mention evolutionary differences in males and females in humans and other species of animals. The discussion could then go on to the relative importance of inherited and educated traits.

j.r.r. tolkien - klett · the hobbit was published a year later in 1937. but it was published with...

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