In my first post of this year’s September Series, I described Tolkien’s Shire as being a land of people in need of ‘faeriefication.’ The hobbits of the Shire are deliberately blinded to the delights of their Faerie world, and they themselves suffer a deficiency of otherworldly wonder and joy as a consequence of their small-mindedness. This may all seem like rather an unkind take, and though I do stand by it, it is also well worth considering that the Shire is only an unFaerie realm on one level – the level of the Shire itself. For, while the Shire and…
Leave a CommentCategory: Literature
Over the past few years, I’ve been working slowly (well, in fits and bursts) through a project that I’ve found really enriching and exciting – and, well, as of today it is complete. I’ve been recording my own readthrough of The Lord of the Rings. Complete, unabridged, unaided by…well, pretty much anything. And as of today, I have recorded and edited my very own LOTR. It’s been a project that’s hung over the last few years, and that has frankly been far more work than I ever would have guessed. To say that I’m proud and delighted is, frankly, a…
Leave a CommentThis is a relatively short postscript to my recent post on Aragorn and the self-distance he consistently displays in his identifying with his “Strider” identity. In researching and preparing that post, I noticed a really small detail that’s previously escaped me. Right near the beginning of their conversation in the Prancing Pony, Strider offers to the hobbits that he may be able to tell them something to their advantage, and the following exchange takes place: ‘Several things,’ answered Strider. ‘But, of course, I have my price.’ ‘What do you mean?’ asked Frodo sharply. ‘Don’t be alarmed! I mean just this:…
Leave a Comment