JRR Tolkien on how WW1 inspired The Lord of the Rings | BBC Global

The first volume of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was published on 29 July, 1954.

In a 1968 interview, the BBC spoke to Tolkien about his experiences during World War One, how they had a profound effect and influenced his epic fantasy novel.



#bbc #books #ww1

[therealking]

Watching the creator of Elvish write in Elvish was mind-blowing.

[lewisbull]

I heard Ian McKellen say he watched videos of JRR Tolkien talking when preparing for playing Gandalf and watching this you can hear it.

[michaelv]

1:02. Reaches for the Ring in his waistcoat pocket Bilbo style... 👀

But seriously, I love how humble Tolkien was about his work, and at the same time how serious he took it.

[TorontoMiniClub]

If the BBC has any more of these Tolkien videos please upload them as they are insightful into his legendarium.

[TheSmart-CasualGamer]

I love that he sounds exactly like how you would expect him to sound.

[duncanwallace]

His exceptional imagination and knowledge has inspired so many people.

[Xerrand]

Rename the video, it's got nothing to do with WWI. That said, thank you for uploading, I could listen to this man speak all day

[gastondeveaux]

I think here we see a soaring intellect. His speech is rapid and, for me, hard to follow, but it's as if it's not fast enough to keep up with his thoughts. Only a mind and imagination as sprawling as his could create what he did. A true genius.

[TonyBongo]

Tolkien was on the Somme battlefield, every one needs to go there to understand

[Wyrmwould]

Oh to have a signed copy of the LOTR! Imagine having a copy with "a star shines upon our meeting" written in elvish in Tolkien's hand.

[Steno]

Be thankful for this man, his legacy and the gifts he left us.

[GLING]

Absolutely brilliant man. Rest in peace.

[Goettel]

I'm Dutch and as a teen first read the books that were available around 1986, in Dutch. I also read the compilation of Tolkien letters available back then, and one thing that's remained with me is that he discussed and explained several issues with the proposed Dutch translation, with the Dutch professor in charge of the translation, especially on the idea of naming Bilbo "Bingo" in Dutch. We all won.

[faruksahin]

the only thing that is not discussed in the video is how ww1 inspired the lord of the rings. Okay, one of the things.

[zjjohnson]

His noting that of Shakespeare’s plays, few are meant to be allegories, but then specifically listing The Tempest as one that is among the few that are exceptions to that statement is really cool.

I remember going on a HS school trip for English Literature class, and we went to a college production of The Tempest, and tho I believe it differed in some aspects from the source play, something that stood out was that Caliban was (especially in this adaptation) unquestionably a partial inspiration for Gollum/Smeagol. So it’s exonerating in a way to know that Tolkien not only read and studied The Tempest (no doubt a basic requirement in all English literature schooling in his day), but that decades later he still would bring it up in his discussions on if LotR was an allegory

[artfasil]

*Death is a path that all must eventually take.*
*The grey rain curtain of this world rolling back, and all turning to silver glass.*
*A far green country, under a swift sunrise.*

[KimP]

Lmao jokes on Tolkien, we got folks out here learning Elvish, writing in Tengwar, etc. Cant blame us, Professor, it’s all so amazing.

[markedwards]

The title of this clip is completely misleading since Tolkien never once mentions WWI in the video at all...

[TheLyricalCleric]

“Lord of the Rings is so inspirational, so much love and loyalty and cameraderie and bravery—“

“Death.”

“I’m sorry?”

“The point is death, my dear. Untimely and unwarranted, unlooked for and fruitlessly opposed with every fiber of your being.”

“Are—are you okay?”

[ravenhill_theAnglo-celt-]

this great interview was conducted in the year i was born....oh how i would love to roll back time to then in england.