English writer John Tolkien: biography, creativity, best books

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Who is Tolkien John Ronald Reuel? Even children, and first of all, they know that this is the creator of the famous "Hobbit". In Russia, his name became very popular with the release of the cult film. In the homeland of the writer, his works became famous back in the mid-60s, when the student audience of a circulation of a million copies of The Lord of the Rings was not enough. For thousands of young English-speaking readers, the story of Frodo the hobbit has become a favorite. The work created by John Tolkien sold out faster than Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye.

The Hobbit Passion

Meanwhile, in New York, youths were running around with homemade badges that said: “Long live Frodo!”, and stuff like that. Among the youth there was a fashion for organizing parties in the Hobbit style. Tolkien societies were created.

But the books that John Tolkien wrote were not only read by students. Among his fans were housewives, and rocket men, and pop stars. Respectable fathers of families discussed the trilogy in London pubs.

Tell about who you were in real lifeThe life of fantasy author John Tolkien is not easy. The author of cult books himself was convinced that the true life of the writer is contained in his works, and not in the facts of his biography.

Childhood

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel was born in 1892 in South Africa. There, by occupation, was the father of the future writer. In 1895, his mother went with him to England. A year later, news came announcing the death of his father.

Ronald's childhood (that's what his relatives and friends called the writer) passed in the suburbs of Birmingham. At the age of four he began to read. And just a few years later, he experienced an inexpressible desire for the study of ancient languages. Latin for Ronald was like music. And the pleasure of studying it could only be compared with reading myths and heroic legends. But, as John Tolkien later admitted, these books existed in the world in insufficient quantities. Such literature was too scarce to satisfy his reading needs.

Hobbies

At school, in addition to Latin and French, Ronald also studied German and Greek. He became interested in the history of languages and comparative philology quite early, attended literary circles, studied Gothic and Icelandic, and even tried to create new ones. Such hobbies, unusual for teenagers, predetermined his fate.

In 1904 my mother died. Thanks to the care of the spiritual guardian, Ronald was able to continue his studies at Oxford University. His specialization was the history of the English language.

Army

When the war started, Ronald was in his last year. And after passing the final exams brilliantly, he volunteered for the army. The second lieutenant fell to several months of the bloody battle of the Somme, and then two years in the hospital with a diagnosis of trench typhus.

Teaching

After the war, he worked on compiling a dictionary, then received the title of professor of English. In 1925, his account of one of the ancient Germanic legends was published, in the summer of that year, John Tolkien was invited to Oxford. He was too young by the standards of the famous university: only 34 years old. However, behind John Tolkien, whose biography is no less interesting than books, had rich life experience and brilliant works on philology.

Mystery Book

By this time, the writer was not only married, but also had three sons. At night, when family chores were over, he continued the mysterious work, begun as a student, - the history of a magical land. Over time, the legend was filled with more and more details, and John Tolkien felt obliged to tell this story to others.

In 1937, the fairy tale "The Hobbit" was published, bringing the author unprecedented fame. The popularity of the book was so great that the publishers asked the writer to create a sequel. Then Tolkien began work on his epic. But the three-part saga came out only eighteen years later. Tolkien developed an artificial language throughout his life. Refinement of the Elvishadverbs are being conducted today.

Tolkien characters

Hobbits are incredibly charming creatures that resemble children. They combine frivolity and steadfastness, ingenuity and innocence, sincerity and cunning. And strangely enough, these characters give the world created by Tolkien, authenticity.

The protagonist of the first story, Bilbo Baggins, constantly takes risks to get out of the maelstrom of all sorts of misadventures. He has to be bold and inventive. With the help of this image, Tolkien seems to tell his young readers about the limitlessness of the possibilities that they have. And another feature of Tolkien's characters is love of freedom. Hobbits do just fine without leaders.

The Lord of the Rings

What is it that struck the professor from Oxford the minds of modern readers? What are his books about?

Tolkien's works are dedicated to the eternal. And the components of this seemingly abstract concept are good and evil, duty and honor, great and small. In the center of the plot is a ring, which is nothing but a symbol and tool of unlimited power, that is, what almost every person secretly dreams of.

This topic is very relevant at all times. Everyone wants power and is sure that they know exactly how to properly use it. Tyrants and other terrible personalities in history, as contemporaries believe, are stupid and unfair. But the one who wants to acquire power today will supposedly be wiser, more humane and more humane. And maybe make the whole world happier.

Only Tolkien's heroes refuse the ring. There are kings and brave warriors, mysterious magicians and omniscient sages, beautiful princesses and gentle elves in the work of the English writer, but in the end they all bow to a simple hobbit who was able to fulfill his duty and was not tempted by power.

In recent years, the writer was surrounded by universal recognition, received the title of Doctor of Literature. Tolkien died in 1973, and four years later the final version of The Silmarillion was published. The work was completed by the writer's son.