This is a relatively minor observation, but I’ve been fascinated for some time by Aragorn’s surprisingly clear self-delineation between “himself” and “Strider”. It is a relatively simple thing to see “Strider” as being but another alias for the Ranger, and it’s often treated as such by commenters on the story. Yet a close reading of how Aragorn himself speaks of Strider creates a strong impression (to me, at least) that Aragorn sees Strider as being a character…at least initially. Arguably, the most memorable indication of this separation comes during Aragorn’s rebuke to Boromir at the Council of Elrond, in which…
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There are few more infamous passages in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy than when Faramir, Captain of Gondor, elects to take Frodo, Sam and Gollum into his custody, and to bring them and the Ring to Minas Tirith. For movie fans, it is a slightly baffling diversion – Faramir’s change of heart and release of the hobbits comes swiftly, and the episode results in few consequences to him or to Frodo and Sam. To lovers of the book, though, it is an outrageous change, a sign of everything wrong with the films, a complete bastardisation of one of…
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As feats of worldbuilding go, it is hard to go past Tolkien’s Legendarium as the chief and foremost example of the craft. Even those who have a passing…
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