How September Hobbit went
Hello! Hello!
I know, it’s been ages since last I wrote. Not even during the Hobbit Week have I dropped a line to you. But, after an admittedly long time, I was indeed busy on the Gazette in September, and in case you didn’t notice, I’m giving you a recap :-)
Why “The Hobbit” deserves our love — September Hobbit 2022
Why I think we should give more love to “The Hobbit”
I’m coming to September Hobbit later than I would have liked, but here I am at last. This is the month we celebrate #HobbitDay (on 22nd September, Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday), and I love to have a special celebration here on Middle-earth Literary Gazette.
I love talking about The Hobbit. My appreciation of this story has greatly grown over the years, and I now feel readers often undervalue it.
It’s probably one of Tolkien’s most dismissed stories of Middle-earth. One that we often find fun to read but doesn’t compare to The Lord of the Rings. In fact, I know that quite a few readers actively avoid reading it because they don’t feel they are missing anything by letting it go.
WWI themes in ‘The Hobbit’
Tolkien’s experience in the Great War impacted Bilbo’s story too and allowed ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to be the masterpiece it is.
I will admit that I’m very, very interested in how Tolkien’s experience in WWI reflects in his work.
Tolkien’s stories — and his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings maybe more so than all the others — can be read in many different ways. There are so many themes we can afford to choose the one that most speaks to us, knowing that it’s only one of many.
My theme of choice is WWI and its connection to WWII. Ever since I became interested in the Great War — which happened independently from my love for Tolkien but then channelled into it — I cannot read The Lord of the Rings without seeing unnumbered references to that war.
But while the influence of WWI on The Lord of the Rings is generally acknowledged, the same is not true for The Hobbit. Yet I think that already in The Hobbit, some of these WWI themes emerged.
The Unexpected Prequel: how ‘The Hobbit’ became part of Tolkien’s legedarium
‘The Hobbit’ wasn’t initially supposed to be part of Middle-earth but became inexorably absorbed. Here’s how it enriched the legendarium.
The way The Hobbit became caught in Tolkien’s legendarium almost by chance (though the Professor wasn’t a fan of chances) is truly fascinating.
The Hobbit is a ‘strange’ story. It doesn’t have the majesty and epic of all the other stories of Middle-earth, which — in my opinion — is precisely where its value lays. Here is where The Hobbit gives its particular contribution to the legendarium.
It may feel like a little story of little people, but it’s also the (little?) link that allowed a masterpiece to be born.
Without Bilbo Baggins and his adventure, we wouldn’t have The Lord of the Rings, and some of the themes that today we consider typically Tolkienian might have never emerged.
And a while back, I wrote this.
I’m a Tolkien fan and I won’t be watching the Amazon thing
I kept an open mind until the very end, but Amazon’s communication finally managed to drive me away from their ‘Rings of Power’ series.
I won’t be watching Amazon series.
I was in a ‘possible’ mood for a long time. Ever since I learned (years ago) that the series was going to be set in the Second Age, I hoped it would be good. I love the Second Age. The Fall of Númenor is one of the most heart-wrenching stories Tolkien ever wrote. It’s a story of despair but also of hope. A story of deceit, greed and fear but also selfless sacrifice, courage and devotion.
And Númenor is such a fantastic location.
I was hesitant because I love that story so much, and yet I hoped because I really wanted the series to be awesome. From the very beginning, I had a distinct impression this would be either spectacular or awful.
I am not watching the tv show, but I’m following a bit of everything happening around it. Can’t say I’ve changed my mind about how I feel about it.
What about you? Are you watching it? Are you enjoying it?
Drop me a line at oldshelter@yahoo.com if you want to have a chat.
I’m very sorry for my long hiatus. I’m working on a creative writing project that is taking up most of my time, but I do want to go back to writing about Tolkien.
I promise I’ll do my best.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy these stories. I do love writing about The Hobbit :-)
Take care,
Sarah
