[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.15,0:00:03.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This episode is sponsored \Nby the Manhattan Rare Book Company.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.68,0:00:12.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien was 62 years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.06,0:00:17.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had just spent the last 16 years\Nworking industriously on a book.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.83,0:00:20.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was now time\Nto release it into the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.48,0:00:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was very nervous.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.87,0:00:24.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he should have been,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.62,0:00:28.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because no one had seen anything\Nquite like "The Lord of the Rings" before.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.44,0:00:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a huge risk for the publishers
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.96,0:00:34.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were convinced \Nthat it wouldn't sell many copies.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.88,0:00:37.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Who was the audience for this strange book
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.06,0:00:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,filled with unfamiliar and unpronounceable\Nnames of people and places?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.34,0:00:45.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Was it a children's book\Nlike "The Hobbit"?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.10,0:00:48.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It certainly had wizards\Nand strange creatures,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.11,0:00:50.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was also an epic adventure\Nof some kind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.03,0:00:53.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was also very, very, long.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.89,0:00:55.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Three volumes in fact,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.63,0:00:57.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and several appendices.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.52,0:01:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no, it was neither a children's book\Nor an adult novel.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.88,0:01:04.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien wrote to his publisher\Nat the time:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.82,0:01:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"My work has escaped from my control\Nand I have produced a monster,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.43,0:01:10.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"an immensely long, complex,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.87,0:01:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"rather bitter, and rather\Nterrifying romance,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.56,0:01:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"quite unfit for children \N(if fit for anybody)..."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.79,0:01:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I now wonder whether\Nmany beyond my friends [...],
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.26,0:01:21.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"would read anything so long."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.43,0:01:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"We can only imagine \Nwhat was at stake for Tolkien.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.06,0:01:26.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the first volume wasn't a success,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.26,0:01:28.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what would happen to the other two volumes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.82,0:01:32.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which he had spent \Nthe best part of 16 years writing?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.19,0:01:56.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the early 1930s, when Tolkien\Nwas a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.11,0:01:58.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was grading papers when he noticed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.66,0:02:01.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that one of the candidates\Nhad left a blank sheet of paper.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.95,0:02:04.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Nothing to read. So, I scribbled on it\NI can't think why:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.68,0:02:07.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"In a hole in the ground\Nthere lived a Hobbit"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.07,0:02:10.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, the Hobbits were born.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.08,0:02:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Hobbit can broadly be considered\Na prequel to The Lord of the Rings.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.39,0:02:18.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It introduces Tolkien's world \Nof Middle Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.42,0:02:21.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The world of Hobbits, wizards, \Ndwarves, and elves.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.61,0:02:23.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it is a much different book,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.62,0:02:25.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a different intended audience.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.94,0:02:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Upon publication, \NTolkien''s friend C.S. Lewis
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.07,0:02:30.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared "The Hobbit" to such classics
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.90,0:02:33.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as "Alice in Wonderland" \Nand "The Wind in the Willows",
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.82,0:02:36.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and like those works\Nit has often been considered
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.33,0:02:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a children's fantasy book
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.12,0:02:41.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,written primarily\Nfor children or adolescents,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.09,0:02:43.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but enjoyed by adults as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.54,0:02:45.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Hobbit" was a huge success
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.20,0:02:47.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and only a few weeks \Nafter its publication,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.60,0:02:50.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien met \Nwith his publisher Stanley Unwin,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.48,0:02:52.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to discuss a sequel.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.64,0:02:54.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writer expressed his desire to publish
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.87,0:02:56.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a long, detailed, mythological work
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.99,0:03:00.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about Middle Earth, \Ncalled the Silmarillion.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.83,0:03:04.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But Unwin insisted that\Nwhat the public really wanted,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.38,0:03:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was more stories about the Hobbits.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.79,0:03:09.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He wanted The Hobbit 2.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.90,0:03:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien and Unwin had variations\Nof this debate
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.49,0:03:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the entire 16 years Tolkien\Nwas working on his next book.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.17,0:03:19.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ultimately the Lord of the Rings
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.35,0:03:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,succeeded in developing\NTolkien's Middle Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.03,0:03:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without losing \Nthe narrative appeal of "The Hobbit".
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.11,0:03:29.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The result was not so much a sequel \Nbut a much more complex, adult work.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.02,0:03:35.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the process Tolkien had invented\Na whole new genre - the fantasy novel.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.85,0:03:42.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size).
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.54,0:03:46.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I like gardens, trees\Nand unmechanized farmlands,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.29,0:03:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I smoke a pipe, \Nand like good plain food."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.58,0:03:50.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"- J.R.R. Tolkien
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.57,0:03:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien in his later years professed\Nto love the simple life,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.83,0:03:56.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much like his beloved\NHobbits in the Shire.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.96,0:04:00.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This desire for peace, security, \Nand companionship, however
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.37,0:04:03.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was likely the result of his upbringing\Nand young adulthood,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.84,0:04:06.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was anything\Nbut peaceful and secure.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.17,0:04:09.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This quintessentially English Professor
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.99,0:04:13.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien \Nin Bloemfontein,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.91,0:04:17.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in what is now South Africa, in 1892.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.60,0:04:22.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1895 Tolkien, his mother, \Nand his infant brother, Hillary,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.23,0:04:25.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,went to England for a visit\Nto his mother's family,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.21,0:04:27.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who like her were British.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.20,0:04:31.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But soon after their arrival, \Nhis father died in Bloemfontein,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.16,0:04:32.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of rheumatic fever,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.72,0:04:35.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving the family \Nwith very little inheritance.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.77,0:04:39.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The family stayed in Britain, \Nwhere she had the support of her family,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.14,0:04:42.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and moved to the small village of Sarehole
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.18,0:04:45.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just outside the industrial city\Nof Birmingham.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.24,0:04:47.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although they didn't have much money,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.06,0:04:49.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien became captivated\Nwith his environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.69,0:04:51.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He would later say:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.16,0:04:53.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It was a kind of lost paradise.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.01,0:04:57.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"There was an old mill that really\Ndid grind corn with two millers,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.24,0:04:59.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a great big pond with swans on it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.21,0:05:01.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a sandpit, a wonderful dell with flowers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.00,0:05:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a few old-fashioned villages houses
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.14,0:05:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and, further away,\Na stream with another mill..."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.40,0:05:10.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The village scenery\Nwould Inspire the Shire.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.38,0:05:13.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it was just outside\Nthe major industrial city of Birmingham
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.60,0:05:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was expanding rapidly
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.85,0:05:20.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in the process absorbing\Nthe surrounding villages.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.24,0:05:22.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I was brought up in considerable poverty,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.55,0:05:24.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"but I was happy running about\Nin that country.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.16,0:05:28.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I took the idea of the Hobbits\Nfrom the village people and children...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.60,0:05:32.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Hobbits are just what I should like\Nto have been but never was...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.41,0:05:34.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"an entirely unmilitary people
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.76,0:05:37.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"who always came up\Nto scratch in a clinch...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.41,0:05:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Behind all this Hobbit stuff\Nlay a sense of insecurity.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.04,0:05:43.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I always knew it would go - and it did."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.21,0:05:47.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The theme of the destruction\Nof idyllic countryside
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.43,0:05:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would fill his literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.62,0:05:53.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien's mother Mabel was the primary\Ninfluence on his early life.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.78,0:05:56.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1900 when Tolkien was 8,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.33,0:05:58.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mabel converted to Catholicism.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.75,0:06:01.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her family, who were Methodist, \Ndisapproved.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.39,0:06:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her father disowned her,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.84,0:06:06.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her brother-in-law,\Nwho had been assisting her financially,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.01,0:06:07.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,withdrew his support.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.70,0:06:09.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a spectacular fall from grace,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.01,0:06:12.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a theme we often find in Tolkien's books.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.38,0:06:15.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She homeschooled him\Nuntil the age of eight,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.57,0:06:17.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,encouraging him to read widely,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.92,0:06:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and introducing him to the works\Nof George McDonald and Andrew Lang,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.88,0:06:24.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,early developers of fantasy literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.78,0:06:27.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1904 however, when a Tolkien was 12,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.99,0:06:30.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mabel died of diabetes,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.12,0:06:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hastened, Tolkien later believed,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.48,0:06:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by persecution for her faith,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.85,0:06:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leaving her two sons orphaned \Nwith bleak prospects.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.55,0:06:42.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He took refuge in language, \Nlearning Chaucer's Middle English,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.96,0:06:45.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the old Norse of the Viking sagas,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.56,0:06:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the old English of Beowulf,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.71,0:06:50.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even reviving long dead languages
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.85,0:06:53.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and inventing languages of his own.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.58,0:06:56.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I first began seriously\Ninventing languages...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.62,0:07:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"about when I was 13 or 14,\Nand I've never stopped really."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.38,0:07:02.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,School was a haven for Tolkien.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.08,0:07:04.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He first attended \NKing Edward's School in Birmingham,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.74,0:07:08.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was here crucially, that he formed\Nhis first literary group
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.33,0:07:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the "Tea club and Burrovian Society",
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.24,0:07:13.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,four friends who played rugby together,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.53,0:07:15.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and talked about Norse mythology,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.58,0:07:18.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while drinking tea\Nand inventing languages.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.32,0:07:20.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Groups like this were important to Tolkien
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.91,0:07:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a fatherless boy, and now an orphan.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.68,0:07:26.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was the first\Nof many literary groups
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.33,0:07:29.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that Tolkien would form\N- a fellowship of sorts.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.28,0:07:34.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even this early on, he was obsessed\Nwith myths, legends, and folklore,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.87,0:07:37.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and concerned with creating \Na British mythology.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.78,0:07:40.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He won a scholarship\Nto Exeter college, Oxford,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.44,0:07:44.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and unsurprisingly he showed\Na special aptitude for languages,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.28,0:07:48.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Old and Middle English, \NOld Norse, and Gothic in particular.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.62,0:07:52.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Graduating in 1915 with a degree\Nin English language and literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.81,0:07:54.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with First Class honors.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.89,0:07:57.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it is these studies that will lead
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.48,0:08:00.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the creation of a series\Nof languages in Lord of the Rings
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.76,0:08:05.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which are among the most fully developed\Nfictional languages in literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.36,0:08:09.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But 1915 could only mean one thing...war.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.61,0:08:12.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And almost immediately after graduation
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.37,0:08:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he was commissioned\Ninto the Lancashire Fusiliers.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.60,0:08:22.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Lord of the Rings" is\Nat its most basic level, a hero's quest.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.14,0:08:26.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the hero in this case\Nis not someone strong and fierce
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.88,0:08:29.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like Odysseus, Beowulf, or Aeneas,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:29.74,0:08:32.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the Hobbit Frodo Baggins,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.10,0:08:35.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a diminutive creature who, at his core,\Nlike other Hobbits,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.64,0:08:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wishes to be left alone \Nto enjoy peace, good food and fellowship,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.01,0:08:41.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in his homeland the Shire.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.90,0:08:44.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Frodo has no special abilities,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.05,0:08:48.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and is extraordinary, only in his courage,\Nloyalty, and incorruptibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.01,0:08:52.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the quest of Frodo and his companions\Nis most unusual.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.84,0:08:55.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead of trying to gain power,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.17,0:08:59.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are dedicated to the destruction\Nof the one thing, a magical ring,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.30,0:09:01.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would give them great power.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.54,0:09:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, the quest succeeds,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.57,0:09:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the idea\Nthat someone would forego power
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.16,0:09:10.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and intentionally destroy the most\Ncoveted possession in their world,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.28,0:09:14.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a thought that is impossible\Nfor their enemy Sauron to anticipate,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.00,0:09:16.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even to contemplate.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.14,0:09:21.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien was an academic deeply steeped\Nin the tradition of the Epic,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.20,0:09:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he also knew \Nhow to subvert those traditions,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.34,0:09:26.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create a new kind of Epic,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.38,0:09:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that address the fears\Nand concerns of his generation
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.04,0:09:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- the generation of World War One.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.57,0:09:41.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,War of one kind or another\Npermeates "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.63,0:09:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through death and loss, \Nthrough notions of power,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.51,0:09:47.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through camaraderie in deathly times,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.12,0:09:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eventually through disappointment.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.86,0:09:52.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien took part\Nin the battle of the Somme,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.66,0:09:55.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the most horrific battles\Nof the 20th century.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.91,0:09:58.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over 3 million men fought in the battle,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.35,0:10:01.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which saw over a million \Nkilled or injured,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.09,0:10:03.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scarring the Earth in one\Nof the most deadliest battles
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.91,0:10:05.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in human history.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.79,0:10:08.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He saw many of his school friends\Ndie in the fighting,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.92,0:10:13.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by 1918, he said that he had lost\Nall but one of his closest friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.14,0:10:16.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In some sense he was lucky
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.32,0:10:19.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have contracted \Na severe case of trench fever
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.28,0:10:21.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,near the end of the battle of the Somme,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.34,0:10:23.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sent back to England to recover.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.64,0:10:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While convalescing in army barracks,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.73,0:10:27.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the war very much fresh in his mind,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.99,0:10:30.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien put to paper much of the story
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.45,0:10:33.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would later become \N"The Fall of Gondolin",
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.23,0:10:35.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a story published after his death,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.51,0:10:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a cataclysmic battle featuring orcs,\Ndragons, and bullfrogs,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.99,0:10:43.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and notably his first work\Nto feature "Middle Earth".
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.20,0:10:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"They walked slowly, stooping, \Nkeeping close in line,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.38,0:10:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,following attentively\Nevery move that Gollum made.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.96,0:10:58.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The fens grew more wet, opening\Ninto wide stagnant meres.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.64,0:11:01.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"among which it grew\Nmore and more difficult,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.19,0:11:03.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"to find the firmer places\Nwhere feet could tread
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.47,0:11:06.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"without sinking into gurgling mud...
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.26,0:11:08.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Wrenching his hands out of the bog,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.12,0:11:09.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"he sprang back with a cry.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.96,0:11:13.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," 'There are dead things, dead faces\Nin the water', he said with horror.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.02,0:11:15.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," 'Dead faces!' "
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.61,0:11:19.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although Tolkien here is describing\Nthe outskirts of Mordor
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.87,0:11:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in his fictional Middle Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.69,0:11:25.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is not hard to imagine this \Nas a description of Tolkien's experience
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.73,0:11:27.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during the battle of the Somme.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.02,0:11:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The I World War begins as a battle \Non horseback with cavalries,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.12,0:11:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it is the beginning \Nof mechaniZed warfare.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.54,0:11:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Characters in "The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.40,0:11:41.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,describe being watched \Nby mysterious figures flying overhead,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.65,0:11:46.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in 1914, airplanes on both sides \Nwere first used for reconnaissance,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.06,0:11:49.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,flying deep behind enemy lines.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.67,0:11:51.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the course of the war,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.34,0:11:54.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aviation developed significantly\Ninto a major force,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.47,0:11:56.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by the end of that war
Dialogue: 0,0:11:56.30,0:11:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was obvious that airplanes\Nwere the weapon of the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.37,0:12:02.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Then Frodo and Sam staring at the sky...
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.72,0:12:06.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"saw it come: a small cloud \Nflying from the accursed hills,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.67,0:12:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a black shadow loosed from Mordor;
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.44,0:12:12.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a vast shape winged and ominous."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.39,0:12:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It scudded across the moon,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.18,0:12:16.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and with a deadly cry went westward,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.64,0:12:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"outrunning the wind in its fell speed."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.59,0:12:22.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He is at the Somme \Nwhen tanks were first used,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:22.53,0:12:25.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and although Orcs make up the bulk\Nof Sauron's Army
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.47,0:12:27.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.30,0:12:30.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of his most powerful weapons\Nwere the tanks of Middle Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.87,0:12:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- the "Olyphants".
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.15,0:12:35.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Newsreel: "A state of war once more exists
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.42,0:12:37.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between Great Britain and Germany"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.12,0:12:39.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien began writing\N"The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.45,0:12:43.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the outbreak\Nof the II World War, late 1937.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.35,0:12:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the world was once again\Non the precipice of war.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.19,0:12:49.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien denied\Nit was an allegory of any kind
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.87,0:12:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the forward to the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.30,0:12:55.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also admitted that an author\Nis influenced by his experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.10,0:12:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The writing of the novel began\Nduring the rise of Hitler,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.21,0:13:02.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and continued during the darkest days\Nof World War II,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.23,0:13:05.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when all hopes of a peaceful \NNew World Order had vanished,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.97,0:13:08.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially for someone living in England
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.53,0:13:11.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in constant fear of air raids\Nand Nazi victory.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.04,0:13:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If you really come down\Nto any 'large' story
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.12,0:13:19.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"that interests people - that can hold\Ntheir attention for a considerable time
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.92,0:13:25.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"stories - human stories - are practically\Nalways about one thing: death."
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.95,0:13:30.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The I World War almost certainly\Nhad more influence on Tolkien,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.27,0:13:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but "The Lord of the Rings" \Ncan also be considered part
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.94,0:13:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of post-World War II literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.20,0:13:39.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that includes "The Lord of the Flies", \N"1984", and "Animal Farm",
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.76,0:13:43.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,books that were marked \Nby their author's wartime experiences,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:43.78,0:13:46.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and deal with the question\Nof good and evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.46,0:13:53.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Sauron was become now\Na sorcerer of dreadful power,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.96,0:13:56.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"master of shadows and of phantoms,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.57,0:13:59.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"foul in wisdom, cruel in strength,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:59.22,0:14:02.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"misshaping what he touched,\Ntwisting what he ruled."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.55,0:14:05.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In "The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.14,0:14:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is the rise of an evil force Sauron,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.98,0:14:09.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is not unlike Hitler
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.64,0:14:12.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in his desire for power\Nand world domination.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.54,0:14:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just like countries during the war,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:14.65,0:14:16.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some societies in the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:16.37,0:14:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether out of self-interest or fear,\Nside with Sauron,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:19.76,0:14:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adding to the hopelessness\Nof the good-hearted.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.89,0:14:25.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fate of the world\Nis at stake in both worlds,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.91,0:14:27.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the outcome hinges on a race
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.86,0:14:30.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to prevent ultimate power\Ngetting in the wrong hands.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.05,0:14:34.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Crucially, the ring \Nis not just about power,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:34.97,0:14:37.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is about what we do with power
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.73,0:14:39.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how it can corrupt us,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:39.41,0:14:41.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how that corruption\Ncan be addictive
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.50,0:14:44.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leading to the eventual loss \Nof your Humanity,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.15,0:14:46.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the evil within you is exposed,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.80,0:14:49.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,absorbing all morals.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.43,0:14:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The very things that were being discussed
Dialogue: 0,0:14:52.15,0:14:56.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the outbreak, during, \Nand at the conclusion of World War II.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:56.76,0:15:01.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The horrific evils of the 20th century\Nwere just around the corner.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:05.46,0:15:08.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite the horrors\NTolkien witness firsthand,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:08.20,0:15:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Lord of the Rings" is not,\Nas you might expect, explicitly anti-war.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.10,0:15:16.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien may describe battles, \Nalmost poetically,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:16.30,0:15:19.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and place an emphasis \Non heroism in combat,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.07,0:15:22.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for a man who spent his life\Nstudying traditional myths and legends,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.57,0:15:24.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often involving war,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:24.09,0:15:26.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he understood that nobility often means
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.98,0:15:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we need to take up \Narms for a "just" cause.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.86,0:15:31.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Lord of the Rings is, in fact,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.86,0:15:35.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a book about \Nthe "unfortunate necessity" of war
Dialogue: 0,0:15:35.53,0:15:38.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- when it is a just war - against evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.85,0:15:41.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But crucially, Tolkien also understood
Dialogue: 0,0:15:41.51,0:15:44.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there was good and evil\Non both sides of war,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.48,0:15:46.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an unpopular sentiment in a time
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.48,0:15:49.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when those boundaries\Nwere being blurred beyond recognition.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:49.87,0:15:53.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was outspoken against bombing campaigns\Non German cities,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.36,0:15:56.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even used \Na quote from "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:15:56.11,0:15:58.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a letter to his son\Nabout the campaigns:
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.71,0:16:01.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You can't fight the enemy\Nwith his own ring
Dialogue: 0,0:16:01.56,0:16:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without turning into an enemy".
Dialogue: 0,0:16:04.88,0:16:07.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He knew, as the characters\Nof the fellowship do,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.89,0:16:10.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that just because one fights for good,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.16,0:16:12.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it doesn't make one immune\Nto the power of evil
Dialogue: 0,0:16:12.95,0:16:15.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- to the power of the ring.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.08,0:16:17.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Fellowship must resist\Nthe temptation of the ring,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.92,0:16:21.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as we must resist\Nusing evil to fight evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:22.96,0:16:26.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien understood \Nthat bravery is a complex notion,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:26.19,0:16:28.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for while battles swarm around him
Dialogue: 0,0:16:28.55,0:16:32.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is our little hobbit Frodo who succeeds\Non his journey by avoiding war.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:33.18,0:16:36.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even he is not immune\Nto war's effects and trauma.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:36.70,0:16:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the war is over\Nand he is returning to the Shire,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.70,0:16:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Frodo confesses to Gandalf,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.83,0:16:44.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in one of the most poignant\Npassages in the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:44.27,0:16:45.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he is in pain,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.62,0:16:48.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as so many shellshocked men\Nof the trenches were.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.91,0:16:56.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," 'Alas! there are some wounds that cannot\Nbe wholly cured', said Gandalf.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:56.47,0:16:59.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," 'I fear it may be so with mine',\Nsaid Frodo.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:59.29,0:17:01.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"There is no real going back.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:01.18,0:17:04.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Though I may come to the Shire,\Nit will not seem the same;
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.18,0:17:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"for I shall not be the same."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.62,0:17:09.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I am wounded with knife, sting and tooth
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.72,0:17:11.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and a long burden.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.01,0:17:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," 'Where shall I find rest?'
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.09,0:17:15.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Gandalf did not answer."
Dialogue: 0,0:17:16.33,0:17:19.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After World War I, and certainly\Nduring World War II,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:19.61,0:17:22.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,artists and writers had to wrestle\Nwith a new reality:
Dialogue: 0,0:17:23.51,0:17:26.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"How to present life\Nin the aftermath of such horrors?"
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.82,0:17:30.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Were the old stories of heroism\Neven relevant anymore?"
Dialogue: 0,0:17:31.19,0:17:33.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien, through his fictional world,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:33.53,0:17:36.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has reinvented the heroic epic\Nfor our times.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:37.11,0:17:41.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Giving us a fresh and more ambiguous\Nperspective on modern warfare,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:41.77,0:17:44.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the realm of fantasy.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:44.34,0:17:46.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You may get all the heroics,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:46.23,0:17:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there are also points when\Nhis greatest heroes are full of fear
Dialogue: 0,0:17:53.99,0:17:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Reducing "The Lord of the Rings" \Nto a heroic quest or a war narrative,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:57.55,0:18:00.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is convenient and an aid \Nto our understanding,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:00.48,0:18:02.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but ultimately \Ndoes disservice to the book.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:03.02,0:18:05.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It more likely\Njust exposes our difficulties
Dialogue: 0,0:18:05.74,0:18:09.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in identifying exactly\Nwhat this strange work is.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.89,0:18:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"If you want my opinion,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.58,0:18:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a part of the 'fascination'\Nof 'The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:18:14.71,0:18:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"consists in the vistas\Nof yet more legend and history,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:18.16,0:18:21.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"to which this work does not contain\Na full clue..." - Tolkien
Dialogue: 0,0:18:22.15,0:18:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The action of the book takes place\Nover a relatively short period of time,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:25.94,0:18:27.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but throughout "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:18:27.99,0:18:30.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we hear tales and legends about the past,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:30.41,0:18:32.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often stretching back thousands of years.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:32.94,0:18:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien hasn't just written a story,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:34.96,0:18:36.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but has given us the impression
Dialogue: 0,0:18:36.92,0:18:39.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we are witnessing a series of events,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:39.42,0:18:42.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside an entire history\Nthat exists outside of the books.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:43.21,0:18:45.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although he is just one writer,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:45.26,0:18:47.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he has created an entire mythology
Dialogue: 0,0:18:47.35,0:18:50.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comparable to traditional\Ncultural mythologies.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:50.89,0:18:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Bowen: And you took 14 years\Nto make this story.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:53.31,0:18:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Tolkien: Quite so, yeah.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:54.56,0:18:57.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I took 14 years and not \Nfor the general thing it is now
Dialogue: 0,0:18:57.27,0:19:02.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"but for finding time schemes\Nand getting everything right and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:03.40,0:19:05.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Documenting the history of Middle Earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:05.60,0:19:07.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was a lifelong project of Tolkien.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:07.86,0:19:10.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In his letters, notes\Nand unpublished works
Dialogue: 0,0:19:10.57,0:19:13.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he filled in details of this mythology,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:13.13,0:19:15.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,complete with elaborate genealogies,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:15.60,0:19:17.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and geographical details.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:17.97,0:19:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien had the genius to make it sound
Dialogue: 0,0:19:20.12,0:19:22.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like it was a "real history" \Nhe was exploring,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:22.78,0:19:26.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if he was just "researching" it\Nand reporting it to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:26.77,0:19:29.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There had been fantasy books\Nbefore Tolkien,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:29.50,0:19:32.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but never had there been \Nsuch successful "world building",
Dialogue: 0,0:19:32.55,0:19:35.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with such a serious tone \Nand seismic events.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:40.91,0:19:43.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"What I'm doing now, \Nis to try and write in Elvish.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:43.94,0:19:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"but mt writing\Nis very inferior to the Elves
Dialogue: 0,0:19:46.68,0:19:49.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their standard meeting when greeting:
Dialogue: 0,0:19:49.48,0:19:51.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"A star shines upon our meeting"
Dialogue: 0,0:19:52.62,0:19:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From 1924 to 1945,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:54.60,0:19:57.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien was the professor \Nof Anglo-Saxon at Oxford,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:57.92,0:20:00.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and even after\Nthe huge success of "The Hobbit"
Dialogue: 0,0:20:00.78,0:20:02.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and "The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:20:02.52,0:20:06.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he continued to teach at Oxford, \Nuntil his retirement in 1959.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:06.26,0:20:09.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He developed \N15 different dialects for Elvish
Dialogue: 0,0:20:09.32,0:20:11.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for "The Hobbit" \Nand "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:20:11.59,0:20:13.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as a soldier during World War I,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:13.87,0:20:17.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien even developed a secret code\Nto communicate with his wife.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:17.45,0:20:20.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For Tolkien, language\Nis where it all begins.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:21.39,0:20:24.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The invention of languages\Nis the foundation...
Dialogue: 0,0:20:24.13,0:20:27.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"To me a name comes first\Nand the story follows."
Dialogue: 0,0:20:28.35,0:20:32.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He believed that the nature of a society\Nwas Inseparable from its language.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:32.79,0:20:36.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To understand a people, \Nyou must understand the language.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:36.46,0:20:40.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sounds, syntax, and expressions\Ncan all evoke a mood
Dialogue: 0,0:20:40.27,0:20:43.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reveal the values of a people.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:43.12,0:20:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Tolkien has given \Nall of his fictional races in the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:47.04,0:20:49.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not only their own complex history,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:49.28,0:20:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also, their own fully \Ndeveloped language,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:52.10,0:20:54.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with its own alphabet, \Nexpressions, and sounds.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:55.07,0:20:57.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is a remarkable encyclopedic feat
Dialogue: 0,0:20:57.72,0:21:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that fleshes out \Neven the most minor characters.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:01.63,0:21:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At one point, Frodo hears\Nthe elves singing in the forest.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:32.17,0:21:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is part of a poem\Nfrom "The Lord of the Rings" in Elvish,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:35.43,0:21:39.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which some have likened \Nto a Roman Catholic Marian hymn.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:39.12,0:21:41.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sounds are flowing and musical,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:41.68,0:21:43.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reflecting how the elves speak,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:43.53,0:21:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underscoring their reverence \Nfor grace, beauty and nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:47.69,0:21:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The dwarves however speak \Nthe more direct language of "Kazul",
Dialogue: 0,0:21:51.71,0:21:55.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reflecting their emphasis\Non craftsmanship and precision.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:55.54,0:21:58.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The language of the hobbits\Nis filled with colloquialisms,
Dialogue: 0,0:21:58.85,0:22:02.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and expressions centered around\Nthe simple pleasures of life.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:02.30,0:22:05.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The orcs have a savage and gutural tongue
Dialogue: 0,0:22:05.100,0:22:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that exposes their brutality.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:08.42,0:22:12.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even among the races of man, \NTolkien uses distinguishing styles.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:13.38,0:22:15.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Rohirrim, pepper their language
Dialogue: 0,0:22:15.79,0:22:18.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with references\Nto horsemanship and warfare,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:18.39,0:22:22.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while those from Gondor speak\Nwith a more formal and elevated style,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:22.13,0:22:25.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,emphasizing their nobility \Nand ancient heritage.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:31.97,0:22:36.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Passages in invented languages\Nhelp create an immersive experience
Dialogue: 0,0:22:36.33,0:22:39.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and are critical \Nto Tolkien's world building.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:39.09,0:22:43.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We become convinced that we are learning\Nabout a time, different from our own,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:43.21,0:22:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a historical world \Nthat really did exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:46.43,0:22:48.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien felt so strongly
Dialogue: 0,0:22:48.50,0:22:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the centrality\Nof language to his work,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:51.18,0:22:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that he once commented\Nhe would have preferred
Dialogue: 0,0:22:53.60,0:22:56.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have written "The Lord of the Rings"\Nentirely in Elvish,
Dialogue: 0,0:22:56.92,0:22:59.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but ultimately left in only as much
Dialogue: 0,0:22:59.54,0:23:02.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as he thought his readers would endure.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:02.69,0:23:05.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because of Tolkien, invented languages
Dialogue: 0,0:23:05.41,0:23:08.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have now become standard\Nin fantasy epics,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:08.16,0:23:12.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most recently seen in modern versions\Nof "Dune" and "Game of Thrones".
Dialogue: 0,0:23:16.77,0:23:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This chapter, comes \Nat the end of the book
Dialogue: 0,0:23:19.26,0:23:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and doesn't feature in many of the films.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:21.86,0:23:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But is an integral chapter\Nwhen looking at Tolkien.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:24.46,0:23:27.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is a deeply pessimistic look\Nat what happens
Dialogue: 0,0:23:27.77,0:23:31.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when our returning heroes, \Nthe hobbits, go back to their Shire,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:31.80,0:23:34.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this bastion of middle England,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:34.24,0:23:36.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these idyllic agricultural spaces,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:36.39,0:23:39.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to find that everything has changed.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:40.89,0:23:44.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Industry is now polluting\Ntheir once pure rivers,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:44.19,0:23:48.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Shire is now, \Nin effect, a police state.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:49.73,0:23:52.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It was one of the saddest hours\Nin their lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:52.48,0:23:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The great chimney rose up before them.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:54.99,0:23:57.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and as they drew near \Nthe old village across the water,
Dialogue: 0,0:23:57.83,0:24:00.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"through rows of new mean houses
Dialogue: 0,0:24:00.15,0:24:01.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"along each side of the road,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:02.01,0:24:03.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"they saw the new mill
Dialogue: 0,0:24:03.54,0:24:06.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"in all its frowning and dirty ugliness:
Dialogue: 0,0:24:06.34,0:24:09.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"a great brick building\Nstraddling the stream
Dialogue: 0,0:24:09.10,0:24:12.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"which it fouled\Nwith a steaming and stinking outflow.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:13.22,0:24:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"All along the Bywater Rod \Nevery tree had been felled."
Dialogue: 0,0:24:18.63,0:24:21.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a classic idea\Nof the homecoming hero
Dialogue: 0,0:24:21.04,0:24:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,facing further obstacles,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:22.90,0:24:25.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we can find in Homer's Odyssey
Dialogue: 0,0:24:25.20,0:24:27.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,amongst other "quest literature".
Dialogue: 0,0:24:27.58,0:24:31.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Shire is now run by Ruffians \Nwith a dictator-like chief
Dialogue: 0,0:24:31.52,0:24:34.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whose gatherers count, \Nkeep track of productivity,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:34.52,0:24:36.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and enforce endless rules.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:36.84,0:24:38.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Hobbit's inns are closed
Dialogue: 0,0:24:38.64,0:24:41.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because the chief disapproves of beer
Dialogue: 0,0:24:41.15,0:24:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and beautiful old dwellings are demolished\Nto create ugly new ones
Dialogue: 0,0:24:45.75,0:24:48.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- surely a reference\Nto the desperately needed
Dialogue: 0,0:24:48.56,0:24:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,new social housing post-World War II.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:51.70,0:24:53.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there are hundreds of "shiriffs",
Dialogue: 0,0:24:53.74,0:24:55.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a kind of Hobbit police force,
Dialogue: 0,0:24:55.87,0:24:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who drag anyone who stands up\Nfor their rights to prison.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:59.15,0:25:02.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can go back to Tolkien's\Nexperiences in World War I,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:02.32,0:25:06.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when returning veterans were promised \Na new life fit for heroes,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:06.32,0:25:10.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in fact, return to unemployment, \Ncontinuing poverty,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:10.53,0:25:13.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,homelessness - and even worse -
Dialogue: 0,0:25:13.42,0:25:15.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the wholesale destruction\Nof their way of life.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:15.78,0:25:17.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a betrayal.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:18.04,0:25:21.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien was famously \Nanti-industrialization,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:21.32,0:25:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and politically conservative\Nwhen it came to "big government",
Dialogue: 0,0:25:24.43,0:25:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and this can be seen as a veiled attack
Dialogue: 0,0:25:26.86,0:25:29.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the post-war Labor government,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:29.24,0:25:31.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what conservatives\Nsaw as "interference",
Dialogue: 0,0:25:31.77,0:25:35.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"regulation", and even \N"socialist ideology".
Dialogue: 0,0:25:35.39,0:25:39.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At one point, the Hobbits discuss\Nthe gathering of local farming produce,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:39.60,0:25:42.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, it can be "shared out equally",
Dialogue: 0,0:25:42.57,0:25:45.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but this ideal never quite works\Nthe way it should do.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:46.18,0:25:49.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A scathing critique \Nof socialist principles.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:49.63,0:25:51.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The scouring of the Shire chapter
Dialogue: 0,0:25:51.85,0:25:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was written after the end\Nof the II World War,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:54.58,0:25:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I think it's hard to deny\N(although Tolkien did),
Dialogue: 0,0:25:57.58,0:26:00.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there is also an allegorical element \Nto this chapter,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:01.26,0:26:04.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the Ruffians behavior\Nechoing the Nazis,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:04.17,0:26:08.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the way they used collaborators, \Ninformers, threats, torture,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:08.50,0:26:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the imprisoning\Nand killing of dissenters.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:11.60,0:26:14.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At one point the "shiriff" Hobbit says:
Dialogue: 0,0:26:14.42,0:26:17.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I am sorry Mr. Mary, but we have orders".
Dialogue: 0,0:26:17.64,0:26:22.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A chilling phrase that we will hear\Ntime and again at the Nuremberg trials.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:24.17,0:26:26.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are all reflections \Nwhich would have meant
Dialogue: 0,0:26:26.87,0:26:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so much more to a British \Nreader in the 1950s:
Dialogue: 0,0:26:30.06,0:26:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rapid pace of change\Nin terms of industrialization,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:33.11,0:26:35.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,devastation of the countryside,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:35.02,0:26:37.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,regulations of all kinds,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:37.58,0:26:41.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,government interference\Nand the advent of Big Brother.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:41.75,0:26:45.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yes, everything had changed\Nwhile the hobbits were away,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:45.21,0:26:48.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but everything had changed\Nfor the British too.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:52.34,0:26:56.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is one of the most complex and \Ncontentious issues surrounding Tolkien,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:56.56,0:26:59.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a committed Catholic\Nin a Protestant country,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:59.55,0:27:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one who stated categorically
Dialogue: 0,0:27:01.61,0:27:04.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that "The Lord of the Rings" \Nwas not a religious allegory.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:04.78,0:27:07.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In many ways, it is a pagan book
Dialogue: 0,0:27:07.47,0:27:09.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and draws on those sources\Nof the Norse myths
Dialogue: 0,0:27:09.91,0:27:11.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- which are pre-Christian.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:11.77,0:27:15.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are no churches, \Nno religion and no God
Dialogue: 0,0:27:15.07,0:27:17.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in "The Lord of the Rings".
Dialogue: 0,0:27:17.12,0:27:20.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, when Tolkien was attacked \Nupon publication,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:20.58,0:27:23.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the apparent lack \Nof religion in the book,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:23.23,0:27:24.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was he confessed:
Dialogue: 0,0:27:25.01,0:27:27.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The only criticism that annoys me..."
Dialogue: 0,0:27:27.62,0:27:29.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien is clear,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:29.66,0:27:31.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that in such a pre-Christian world,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:31.48,0:27:33.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would have been in congruous
Dialogue: 0,0:27:33.19,0:27:35.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to include any \Nexplicit references to Christianity,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:35.85,0:27:37.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet, in a private letter,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:37.97,0:27:40.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the Catholic priest, \NFather Robert Murray,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:40.14,0:27:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien explained:
Dialogue: 0,0:27:41.73,0:27:43.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The Lord of the Rings" is of course
Dialogue: 0,0:27:43.46,0:27:45.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a fundamentally religious \Nand Catholic work;
Dialogue: 0,0:27:45.64,0:27:47.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unconsciously so at first,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:47.15,0:27:49.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but consciously in the revision."
Dialogue: 0,0:27:49.01,0:27:51.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is why I have not put in\Nor have cut out,
Dialogue: 0,0:27:51.53,0:27:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,practically all references \Nto anything like religion.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:54.19,0:27:57.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to cults or practices \Nin the imaginary world."
Dialogue: 0,0:27:57.29,0:28:01.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"For the religious element is absorbed\Ninto the story and the symbolism..."
Dialogue: 0,0:28:02.67,0:28:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Much has been made\Nin Tolkien scholarship of this letter,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:05.70,0:28:09.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for it seems to conflict with his other\Nmore public statements.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:09.48,0:28:11.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"People do not fully understand
Dialogue: 0,0:28:11.44,0:28:14.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"the difference between\Nan allegory and an application.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:14.27,0:28:17.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"But what does it actually mean\Nfor a book to be religious,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:17.16,0:28:19.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"or, in this case, a Catholic work?"
Dialogue: 0,0:28:19.82,0:28:22.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do we have to, as many have done,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:22.29,0:28:24.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,make the case for Frodo\Nas a Jesus figure?
Dialogue: 0,0:28:24.95,0:28:28.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or make direct parallels \Nbetween Christianity and Middle Earth?
Dialogue: 0,0:28:28.94,0:28:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certainly, there are strong \NChristian elements throughout,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:31.83,0:28:33.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most evident in the larger themes
Dialogue: 0,0:28:34.04,0:28:36.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the importance \Nof sacrifice and selflessness,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:36.78,0:28:38.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the focus on hope and redemption,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:38.93,0:28:41.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lure of temptations\Nand the existence of evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:42.12,0:28:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These values and others however,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:44.31,0:28:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,also overlap with similar themes\Nin Pagan literature,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:48.11,0:28:49.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or Norse myths,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:49.56,0:28:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or countless other sources\NTolkien would have studied.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:53.16,0:28:55.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps it is simply a case\Nthat being a Catholic
Dialogue: 0,0:28:55.91,0:28:58.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was an important part \Nof Tolkien's identity,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:58.82,0:29:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his personal values,\Nfears and concerns
Dialogue: 0,0:29:01.55,0:29:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would naturally be manifested in his work.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:05.49,0:29:07.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You are obliged, any author I imagine,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:07.94,0:29:13.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"is obliged to call on his stock\N- private stock.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:18.44,0:29:20.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I am dreading the publication
Dialogue: 0,0:29:20.19,0:29:22.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"for it will be impossible\Nnot to mind what is said.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:22.97,0:29:25.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I have exposed my heart\Nto be shot at."
Dialogue: 0,0:29:26.50,0:29:29.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien wanted "The Lord of the Rings"\Npublished in one huge volume,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:29.89,0:29:32.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the Silmarilion attached.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:32.37,0:29:33.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the publishers refused.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:33.99,0:29:36.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so, the book \Nwas split into three volumes,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:36.22,0:29:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and published from 1954 to 1955.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:40.43,0:29:43.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it was finally issued\Nin its entirety,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:43.36,0:29:46.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the most part\Nthe reviews were positive.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:46.34,0:29:47.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"One reviewer once said,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:47.96,0:29:50.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"this is a jolly book,\Nall the right boys come home
Dialogue: 0,0:29:50.45,0:29:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,," and everyone's always happy and glad...
Dialogue: 0,0:29:52.50,0:29:53.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It isn't true of course.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:53.69,0:29:55.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"He can't have read the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:55.24,0:29:58.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,His good friend C.S. Lewis\Nwrote enthusiastically to Tolkien.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:58.87,0:30:00.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I congratulate you.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:00.26,0:30:03.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"All the long years you have spent\Non it are justified."
Dialogue: 0,0:30:03.40,0:30:05.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And championed him in print.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:05.76,0:30:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The poet W.H. Auden called it \Na masterpiece
Dialogue: 0,0:30:10.27,0:30:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in his review in the New York Times,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:12.67,0:30:15.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compared it to Milton's "Paradise Lost".
Dialogue: 0,0:30:15.85,0:30:17.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In "The Lord of the Rings",
Dialogue: 0,0:30:17.36,0:30:19.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien takes Anglo-Saxon and Norse sagas,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:19.64,0:30:23.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancient Celtic poetry, Milton, \NDickens, Browning, and more,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:23.90,0:30:26.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to create his world
Dialogue: 0,0:30:26.05,0:30:29.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- but his comparison with Milton\Nis an important one.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:29.38,0:30:33.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Historically, great poets aspire\Nto write a national epic
Dialogue: 0,0:30:33.50,0:30:36.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in imitation of Homer or Virgil.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:36.19,0:30:40.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Milton famously tried to go beyond \Nthe boundaries of a national epic
Dialogue: 0,0:30:40.53,0:30:43.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to explain the origins of all Humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:43.74,0:30:46.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many have argued \Nthat "The Lord of the Rings"
Dialogue: 0,0:30:46.45,0:30:49.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a national epic for England or Europe.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:49.54,0:30:53.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In general Tolkien was never\Nas explicit as Milton in his motives,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:53.42,0:30:58.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but admitted he was inspired\Nby Finland's national epic the Kalevala,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:58.75,0:31:01.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and throughout his life\Ninsisted that Middle Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:31:01.66,0:31:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was not an imaginary world,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:03.72,0:31:08.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but rather an imaginary historical moment\Nin our very real world.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:11.82,0:31:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien's new genre - "heroic fantasy",
Dialogue: 0,0:31:14.62,0:31:17.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"epic fantasy", "world-building fiction"
Dialogue: 0,0:31:17.26,0:31:19.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- whatever we choose to call it -
Dialogue: 0,0:31:19.30,0:31:21.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is now a huge part of our culture,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:21.33,0:31:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and has inspired an entire industry\Nof movies, books, and games,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:25.28,0:31:28.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,centered around epic quests in new worlds.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:28.56,0:31:31.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without Tolkien, \Nwould we even have Star Wars?
Dialogue: 0,0:31:31.81,0:31:34.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Game of Thrones? Harry Potter?
Dialogue: 0,0:31:34.14,0:31:38.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or games like Dungeons and Dragons, \NWorld of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering?
Dialogue: 0,0:31:39.77,0:31:42.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tolkien was a giant of literature
Dialogue: 0,0:31:42.16,0:31:44.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who created a world so fully formed,
Dialogue: 0,0:31:44.46,0:31:47.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so complex and so enigmatic
Dialogue: 0,0:31:47.04,0:31:49.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we forget that the creation\Nof Middle Earth
Dialogue: 0,0:31:49.89,0:31:53.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,changed the entire literary landscape.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:54.29,0:31:57.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Of course, "The Lord of the Rings" \Ndoes not belong to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:57.10,0:31:58.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It has been brought forth
Dialogue: 0,0:31:58.63,0:32:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"and must now go its appointed way\Nin the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:01.14,0:32:03.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"though naturally, I take\Na deep interest in its fortunes,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:03.94,0:32:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"as a parent would of a child."
Dialogue: 0,0:32:05.92,0:32:08.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I am comforted to know \Nthat is has good friends
Dialogue: 0,0:32:08.41,0:32:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"to defend it against\Nthe malice of its enemies."
Dialogue: 0,0:32:18.74,0:32:20.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And now for a quick ad.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:20.38,0:32:22.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Manhattan Rare Book Company
Dialogue: 0,0:32:22.58,0:32:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,specializes in fine books, manuscripts, \Nart, and photography.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:26.01,0:32:29.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They offer only items \Nthat have been carefully selected
Dialogue: 0,0:32:29.05,0:32:32.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to meet their high standards \Nof quality and importance.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:32.33,0:32:34.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the moment, Manhattan Rare Books
Dialogue: 0,0:32:34.30,0:32:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is featuring a number of items\Nby J.R.R. Tolkien,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:37.43,0:32:40.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including two letters written by Tolkien,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:40.26,0:32:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,introducing "The Lord of the Rings"\Nto a fan of "The Hobbit"
Dialogue: 0,0:32:43.18,0:32:45.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,- and a highly important\NTolkien manuscript,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:45.93,0:32:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,complete with a beautiful\Nhand drawn genealogical chart.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:49.62,0:32:53.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Details and images can be found\Nat Manhattanrarebooks.com.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:54.17,0:32:57.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Please feel free to contact them\Nto discuss your collecting interests,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:57.100,0:33:00.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether you are looking\Nfor a specific book,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:00.35,0:33:01.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,manuscript, or photograph,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:01.96,0:33:04.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or have more general questions\Nconcerning collecting,
Dialogue: 0,0:33:04.49,0:33:07.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will be happy\Nto provide their assistance.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:07.16,0:33:08.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thanks for listening.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:09.43,0:33:12.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,