Boethius’ Lady Philosophy and Bunyan’s Giant Despair are not fully real characters because their only purpose is to personify the idea that they represent. — J.R.R. This being so, let’s continue with our exploration of the different types of allegory so that we can discover what sort of allegory The Lord of the Rings is and what sort of allegory it isn’t. — J.R.R. Such allegories may have the good and noble purpose of teaching or preaching, but they do so at the expense of the power and glory of the imaginative and creative relationship between a good author and his readers. Thank you for the good article! To say that Galadriel IS Mary would be allegory. What the Ring IS has great applicability to the prime creation, the real world, but that is very different than the Ring “meaning” something else, or “standing” for something else. “Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. For those who have not read The Silmarillion, the Valar are basically the gods and goddesses of Middle-Earth and Valinor is the land of bliss in which they dwell. In this essay I will prove that Saruman is an allegory for the gay community. It is rather silly, in a certain sense, to talk about what the Ring “means” because the story itself literally tells us exactly what the Ring is. Significant improvements are coming soon! Tolkien (Foreword to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings.) In one sense, The Lord of the Rings is an allegory; in another sense, it is not. It is in this sense that The Lord of the Rings can be seen as part of the great Tradition of western civilization and as one of the priceless gems of Christendom. I believe Tolkien elsewhere in his letters makes the distinction between allegory and applicability, which is what I believe Mr Pearce is getting at here. Tolkien himself said that he preferred applicability to allegory. The differentiation between the two is a distinction Mr. Pearce makes in his comment regarding Galadriel and Mary posted above. Joseph Pearce is Senior Contributor at The Imaginative Conservative. Tolkien disliked allegory because he felt it led to the domination of the author by the story. Well that would seem to settle it. His reference to symbolism, itself a form of allegory, reminds us of the timeless words of Oscar Wilde. Infinity. He preferred applicability, a story that could be considered applicable to real life, although not tied to it in an allegorical sense. No, say others. Is The Lord of the Rings an allegory in one sense of the word and not an allegory in another? Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings not … Sharing the President’s (Nuclear) War Powers? I would argue, for example, that the Ring is not an allegory for the power to dominate precisely because that is what the Ring actually IS in the story. Applicability, not allegory. by Dave Pritchard. You may notice some bugs in submission and user experience. 18 Ways Lord of the Rings is Christian Allegory, Books and Those Who Read Them Are the Real Endangered Species, An Unleashed Feminine Mystique Is Destroying Higher Education. Such an applicable connection is also an allegorical connection. Similarly, as Mr. Pearce points out, Lembas and Miruvor do not stand for, or represent the Eucharist in the story, but they have undeniable applicability to the Eucharist. This has helped me conclude that it is an allegory I can tell my teacher so! ” Whereas good stories bring people to goodness and truth through the power of beauty, formal allegories shackle the beautiful so that the goodness and truth become inescapable. C.S. When writing to his Catholic friends congratulating him on LOTR’s Catholicism. But how can it be “fundamentally religious and Catholic”? Writers and speakers typically use allegories to convey hidden or complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, or event Insofar as Frodo or Sam or Boromir remind us of ourselves or others, The Lord of the Rings is an allegory. If the Orcs accepted their lower status in the hierarchy, the tragedy of the war for Middle-Earth would have never happened. However, the true significance of this narrative is found in the message of the epic. I do not, of course, say that Galadriel is the Virgin Mary, which would be absurd; I do say, echoing Tolkien’s own words in one of his letters, that Tolkien put all of his love for the Blessed Virgin into his characterization of Galadriel. Left and right arrows move across top level links and expand / close menus in sub levels. Similarly the beautiful woman in shining armour in Lewis’ Pilgrim’s Regress, whose name is Reason, is no more a fully real person than are her two younger sisters, Philosophy and Theology. For example, in the moral sense, Aragon’s servant leadership is an example of how those in authority should behave. Replying to a letter in which he was asked whether The Lord of the Rings was an allegory of atomic power, he replied that it was “not an allegory of Atomic power, but of Power (exerted for Domination).” Having confessed the allegory of power, he asserted that this was not the most important allegory in the story: “I do not think that even Power or Domination is the real centre of my story…. A word is a label that signifies a thing. The Uses of the Capitol Hill Riot. Such allegories may have the good and noble purpose of teaching or preaching, but they do so at the expense of the power and glory of the imaginative and creative relationship between a good author and his readers.”. That is the whole point of the Ring, that is literally what it does. Clearly, Tolkien is not confused about the meaning of allegory. Perhaps the books are not an allegory, but the overwhelming similarities between Tolkien's books and … Books by Joseph Pearce may be found in The Imaginative Conservative Bookstore. The allegory assumption is also in question as Tolkien mentions the term “applicability” and its agency “resides in the freedom of the reader” (Smith). “It is neither allegorical nor topical,” Tolkien insists in the Foreword to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings, adding, for good measure, that he “cordially dislike[s] allegory in all its manifestations”. This isn’t allegory because it is an explicit literal element of the story. Tolkien acknowledged he might have been subconsciously influenced by his Catholic upbringing. It is neither allegorical nor topical…. He is using it in one sense when he “dislikes” it in the Foreword to The Lord of the Rings and in another sense when he speaks of The Lord of the Rings as being an allegory of power, or of its being “fundamentally religious and Catholic”. With the creation of the movies, the series has reached millions more worldwide. All comments are moderated and must be civil, concise, and constructive to the conversation. “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously so in the revision. It is this broader meaning of the word that Tolkien has in mind when he speaks of The Lord of the Rings as being an allegory of power or of its being “fundamentally religious and Catholic”. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been a lot of things to a lot of people since it was unleashed in theaters twenty years ago—a thinly veiled Christian allegory, the first in a series of post-9/11 franchises toting sharply black-and-white moral absolutism (very pretty and very white good guys versus bad guys that are goopy slaves from hell), a rare movie where Viggo Mortensen does … The trilogy is actually just one novel. [1], As for any inner meaning or ‘message,’ it has in the intention of the author none. It has been a few months since I have finished my thesis paper on a similar topic. Yes, say some. Authors have used allegory throughout history in all forms of art to illustrate or convey complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible or striking to its viewers, readers, or listeners. Receive intellectually engaging content and updates from our organization. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There is a mystery at the heart of The Lord of the Rings that continues to baffle and confuse the critics. Does The Lord of the Rings series have Christian themes? At this level of understanding, The Lord of the Rings is obviously an allegory because it couldn’t possibly be anything else! RSS feed, (952) 388-0840 • 8011 34th Ave S, Ste C-11, Bloomington, MN 55425. It is, indeed, astonishing to realize that we cannot even think a single thought without the use of allegory—a mysterious fact that subjects all perceptions of reality to the level of metaphysics, whereby the literalness of matter is always transcended by the allegory of meaning. I would very much appreciate if you would look over and tell me what you think of it. He insisted, however, that he had tried to eliminate purely sectarian elements. The existence of Christian themes in the story is both obvious, and mysterious. Those who read the symbols enter a perilous quest into the presence of dragon-slaying truth. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. In his 1951 letter to Milton Waldman he criticizes the Arthurian legend because it “explicitly contains the Christian religion. Mr. Kopff, it is important that we avoid sweeping statements. In the same letter in which Tolkien describes his masterpiece as being “religious”, he writes that “the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism”. [RELATED: 18 Ways Lord of the Rings is Christian Allegory] Instead, Tolkien talks of ways in which events in a story are “applicable” to events in our own lives and our own world. It’s a question that continues to divide lovers of Tolkien’s magnum opus. The Lord of the Rings is not an allegory of World War I or World War II but is rather a Roman Catholic allegory. Eliot in “The Waste Land,” or the way in which allegory is subsumed with great subtlety and dexterity within the works of Homer and Shakespeare and by modern novelists, such as Evelyn Waugh. And the things a story like that stirs in us are possibly more real and rich as a result. Replying to a letter in which he was asked whether The Lord of the Rings was an allegory of atomic power, he replied that it was “not an allegory of Atomic power, but of Power (exerted for Domination)”. After Trump’s Trial, What Next for Due Process Under the Democrats? Now before I begin, I want to state that The Lord of the Rings can be enjoyed without reading through Christ-colored glasses and I will never accept the idea that The Lord of the Rings is a Christian allegory. Having confessed the allegory of power, he asserted that this was not the most important allegory in the story: “I do not think that even Power or Domination is the real centre of my story …. Although Tolkien did not write a formal allegory in which characters simply represent historical figures, it is true nonetheless that several members of the fellowship represent, albeit with subtlety, significant Christian typological figures. https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2016/05/lord-of-the-rings-allegory.html The theme of power to dominate and the theme of immortality and death are woven through out the entirety of Tolkien’s legendarium from beginning to end. “It is neither allegorical nor topical,” Tolkien insists in the Foreword to the second edition of The Lord of the Rings. Is it “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work,” as Tolkien claimed in a letter to his Jesuit friend, Fr. Tolkien is arguing that only those with the divine right to the higher classes can fix the world by ridding it of such violent evils like World War I and Sauron’s armies. The prodigal son did not exist in reality; he was a figment of Christ’s imagination. Linguistically “allegory” derives from the Greek word allegoria, itself a combination of two Greek words: allos, meaning “other,” and agoria, meaning “speaking.” At its most basic level, therefore, an allegory is anything that speaks of another thing. You are currently using the BETA version of our article comments feature. But his short story "Leaf by Niggle" arguably demands an allegorical interpretation. And yet, it can’t be as simple as that because Tolkien also insists that it is “religious and Catholic,” prefixing the assertion with “of course,” as if to state that the religious and Catholic dimension is obvious. Insofar as the parable reminds us of ourselves or others, it is an allegory. The latter ‘fact’ perhaps cannot be deduced.” (Letters, 288) He seems to me to be saying that there are no explicit references in his stories to Roman Catholicism. Tolkien to Robert Murray, S.J. Most people assume that either it has Christian allegory in it or it does not and never even realize that there is a controversy. A native of England, Mr. Pearce is Director of Book Publishing at the Augustine Institute, editor of the St. Austin Review, editor of Faith & Culture, and series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions. To extend this thought, LOTR can fruitfully be read in all three spiritual senses in which the Fathers of the Church read the OT. [2]. In my view, LOTR is allegorical in the sense it can be read in the allegorical or typological way that the Old Testament can be read in light of the New Testament. Lewis, J.R.R. This would be to say that there is no theme, no ideas, no real character or feeling to the story. If you are interested, please tell me how I can share it with you. It seems, therefore, that Tolkien contradicts himself, describing his work as an allegory in one place and denying that it is an allegory in another. Neither Frodo, nor Gandalf, nor Aragorn ARE Christ, but they all have Christ-like qualities that give them applicability. Subscribe to Intellectual Takeout's Daily Digest! There’s no mention of Christianity in the whole work, Catholic or otherwise, or of any organized religion. Surely, as the author, he has more authority to answer such a question than anyone else. But Tolkien wrote to Deborah Webster in 1958, “I am a Christian ( which can be deduced from my stories) and in fact a Roman Catholic. I’m a 7th grader and currently in the middle of confusion to which my English teacher says the lord of the rings is escapism and not allegory. I’m surprised that you did not mention Dante’s Divine Comedy in your short enumeration of specific works of allegory. Similarly, I do not say that lembas is the Eucharistic wafer, which would be absurd; I do say that lembas, in Elvish means “lifebread” or “bread of life” and that it feeds the will more than the body, which is an attribute of the Eucharist, and I also quote Tolkien’s own reference inone of his letters to the connection between lembas and the Eucharist symbolically. The former being an objective story and the latter the personal interpretation of the author and the reader, which might not be the same. She exists purely and simply to signify the beauty and wisdom of philosophy. The Lord of the Rings is filled with more truth than I’ve experienced in lots of other books, though it’s not an allegory. The Lord of the Rings is not written as an allegory it’s written as a mythical history of our own world. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. As such, we can safely assume that he is using the word allegory in two distinct senses. ©2021 Charlemagne Institute. Replying to a letter in which he was asked whether The Lord of the Rings was an allegory of atomic power, he replied that it was “not an allegory of Atomic power, but of Power (exerted for Domination)”. Whatever else Tolkien is, he is not an idiot. [1] Humphrey Carpenter, ed., The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000), p. 172, [2] J. R. R. Tolkien, Foreword to the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings; see J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), pp. February 26th 2021 by Mike LeSuer. I read his work as a simple 7th grader, and I still read it as such. I’d like to think that I’m more ‘bombadillian’ than most. “All art is at once surface and Symbol,” wrote Wilde. This reinforces the concept of the “Great Chain of Being” in the belief that nobody of lower class, such as an Orc, have the right to try to defy the system… A far less subtle type of allegory is the formal or crude allegory in which the characters are not persons but personified abstractions. We don’t need it to be. Yet the story of the Prodigal Son has a timeless applicability because we can all see something of ourselves and others in the actions of the protagonist and perhaps also in the actions of the forgiving father and the envious brother. – leekonghian Oct 25 '17 at 7:14 1 In the question you mention "a very obvious allegory for the First World War" but in a comment you mention "the parallels between LotR and the second world war". Galadriel is, therefore, Marian – but she is not Mary! Get thought-provoking content delivered to your email inbox every weekday. J.R.R. The dominant symbol of Christ in The Lord of the Rings is Gandalf; evidence of this can be found by first looking at how Gandalf came to Middle-Earth and then considering his actions throughout the story. The Imaginative Conservative is sponsored by The Free Enterprise Institute (a U.S. 501(c)3 tax exempt organization). Can we believe that Tolkien is confused about his own work? "The Shadow mocks, it cannot make" Tolkien. Perhaps, at this juncture, it would be helpful if we took a moment to discuss the various meanings to which the label of “allegory” is attached. Just as the Flood in the OT can be seen as a type of Baptism, Galadriel’s in her rejection of the Ring at the mirror can be read as a type of the Virgin Mary’s humility–to give just one of many examples.
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