In this blog post, we’ll take a brief look at J.R.R. Tolkien and his literary universe.
One of the first works that comes to mind when most people think of fantasy is ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The author of this novel is J.R.R. Tolkien. I, too, first became acquainted with Tolkien while reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’. When I first read it, I found it entertaining but a bit challenging, and after watching the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, I became completely immersed in that world and decided to reread the book. As I became captivated by the world Tolkien created and read his other books one after another, I naturally became curious about Tolkien himself.
Tolkien was a British linguist and professor at the University of Oxford. His first novel, ‘The Hobbit’, began as a collection of stories he used to tell his children. Later, at the request of his publisher and with the encouragement of C. S. Lewis, he spent about ten years writing ‘The Lord of the Rings’. If we include ‘The Silmarillion’—a collection of various manuscripts written between these two works, edited and published by his son after Tolkien’s death—we can say that there are three major works that have been translated and introduced in Korea.
The Lord of the Rings is a novel that goes beyond a simple adventure story to contain messages and allegories. When examining its genre characteristics and the nature of interpretive debates, one can find similarities to the Bible. In fantasy, magic often conveys messages of salvation and hope, which resembles the omnipotence of God and the power of miracles described in the Bible. The central narrative shared by the Bible and The Lord of the Rings is the evil that stems from greed and idolatry. Just as the Bible describes this temptation through the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Golden Calf, The Lord of the Rings illustrates it through the One Ring. The quest to destroy the One Ring also resembles the pilgrim’s journey described in the Bible.
What is particularly impressive about Tolkien is his creation of Middle-earth, the setting for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Inspired by Norse mythology, Middle-earth became the archetypal setting for most fantasy novels that followed. The world where elves, dwarves, wizards, monsters like orcs and trolls, and various other races coexist is the Middle-earth he created. The larger world in which Middle-earth exists is called Arda, and Tolkien established every detail of this world—from its creation myth and maps to the founding myths of each nation and the relationships between Elves and Dwarves. The book that contains the origins and early history of this world is ‘The Silmarillion’.
The Silmarillion is so vast that even Tolkien himself could not bring it to a neat conclusion. Therefore, several years after his death, his son Christopher Tolkien edited and published it in a more reader-friendly form. Nevertheless, it is difficult to describe The Silmarillion as merely an “easy read”; personally, I find it an engaging work, yet one that makes me think it would be challenging to adapt into a film.
The Silmarillion begins with the creation of the world and covers the events of the First Age, the formation of Middle-earth, the Downfall of the Elves, the emergence of Men, and the events leading up to a very distant future. Simply put, it contains such a vast amount of content that it could be called the “Bible of Middle-earth,” and it synthesizes many motifs from the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, and Norse mythology and folklore. As you read, familiar stories often come to mind, but those without a basic knowledge of or interest in these traditional myths and legends may find reading The Silmarillion quite challenging.
The writing style is also somewhat stiff and dry, with place names, characters, and proper nouns appearing frequently without much explanation. When you encounter countless names on a single page, there are moments when you feel like giving up.
However, what makes this work extraordinary is that, unlike many myths refined over generations by many people, all of this was conceived and systematized entirely by a single individual. Before discussing The Silmarillion’s readability or artistic merit, one cannot help but marvel at the sheer scale of its imagination. The stories, which instinctively stir a celebration of narrative, heroism, and beauty, are also a major attraction of this work.Furthermore, as a linguist, he even created the languages of Middle-earth himself. He did not merely mix alphabetical symbols; he created a complete linguistic system complete with characters and grammar. Thanks to this, some enthusiasts have even formed study groups to learn the languages Tolkien created.In fact, the work to which Tolkien devoted the most heart and soul was likely ‘The Silmarillion’. After all, it is, in a sense, a book of mythology. However, the work that achieved the greatest commercial success and fame was ‘The Lord of the Rings’. That said, it would be wrong to claim that the effort and dedication poured into ‘The Silmarillion’ were in vain. The solid worldview established in ‘The Silmarillion’ likely contributed significantly to the success of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Because he had a firm foundation, there was no need to improvise the world, and as a result, a natural and well-structured story was born.
