London – The arrival of “Rings of Power,” now available on Amazon Prime, divides people into two categories: those familiar with the mystical universe of British author and scholar JRR Tolkien, and those unfamiliar with Middle-earth and its inhabitants. A guide to understanding what started the discussion.
British film professor Laura Crossley, who teaches at Bournemouth University, has written a script to keep newcomers from cluttering conversations on social media and among friends, which isn’t always easy.
“The universe created by Tolkien can feel as big and heavy as the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” he says.
Leading Novices to Understanding the Rings of Power
The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (published between July 1954 and October 1955) are Tolkien’s most famous novels, which began to be studied by scholars such as Laura Crossley.
In an article on the academic portal The Conversation, he explains how it all started.
The Hobbit follows the adventures of the nameless creature (short stature, hairy feet), Bilbo Baggins, with a group of dwarves to recover lost treasure. Along the way, he finds a ring that gives him the power of invisibility.
The Lord of the Rings catches up to the story years later when Bilbo’s ring is revealed to be the One Ring, forged by the evil dark lord Sauron as a source of power.
Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, embarks on a dangerous journey to destroy the Ring and save Middle-earth. He is assisted by his gardener, Sam Gamgee, as well as representatives of other great races of Middle-earth: two hobbits, Gimli the dwarf, Legolas the elf, and two humans, Boromir and Aragorn.
The film teacher remembers Tolkien’s service during World War I and believes his battlefield experiences shaped the conflicts depicted in the stories and the various forms of heroism displayed.
“In Tolkien’s world, moral courage is just as important, if not more so, to the enduring heroes of Middle-earth than physical prowess.”
The close bonds between the soldiers on duty also inform the interpersonal relationships that are at the heart of The Lord of the Rings – this is evident in the devotion between the hobbits Frodo and Sam and the enemies Gimli and Legolas’ friends.
But what is Middle-earth from the Rings of Power anyway?
In the guide, Laura Crossley explains that Middle-earth, where the Rings of Power takes place, is the fictional setting of mythology invented by Tolkien, who made his debut in The Hobbit.
“However, the term Middle-earth was not used in that book – but it came later with The Lord of the Rings,” he notes.
Tolkien was a professor of English literature and an expert on language, especially written and oral histories.
Middle-earth mythology is replete with poems, songs, and oral history traditions that helped build the world of the different cultures and races (hobbits, elves, dwarves, men) living in its universe.
Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon epic poems, fairy tales, and the Finnish mythical poem Kalevala all influence the stories, characters and languages found in Tolkien’s work.
The film teacher says that while The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are the best-known stories, they are not the full stories of Middle-earth.
“The Silmarillion (1977), published posthumously by Tolkien and edited by his son Christopher and author Guy Gavriel Kay, chronicles thousands of years of Middle-earth history,” he says.
The book traces the creation of Arda, where the continent of Middle-earth is located, and covers the First and Second Ages of the world (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in the Third Age).
Arda begins as a flat disk and evolves into something more recognizable as a planet during catastrophic events during repeated wars between the forces of good and evil.
Other events and characters that shaped Arda and Middle-earth appear in Unfinished Tales (1980).
However, none of the stories from Unfinished Tales or The Silmarillion will be featured in the new series, as Amazon only acquired the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, warns the professor and explains the extensive additions to The Lord of the Rings. is the source material of the new series.
The guide explains who’s who in the Rings of Power
Because the Rings of Power takes place in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, there will be few recognizable characters, says Crossley in his guidebook.
Appearing as a blazing red eye in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron is still the big bad.
Sauron, the creator of the corrupting rings of power and the infamous One Ring who controls the others, may not be front and center as an enemy, but his actions and his desire to control Middle-earth will drive much of the action.
For those already familiar with Tolkien’s universe from the previous series, two other familiar names are the elves Galadriel and Elrond, who are now much younger than they appear in the movies.
“Galadriel was founded as a warrior – that goes for his story as well, as Tolkien wrote it – and there’s plenty of room in the series to see how he evolves, becoming the wise ruler of the elven kingdom of Lothlorien,” the professor says in his guide. To the Rings of Power.
Elrond Half-elf, ruler of the Rivendell enclave, has been shown to be more optimistic than in The Lord of the Rings, and to have closer ties to the human kingdom of Númenor, whose rulers are descended from his twin brother Elros.
Since the brothers were half-elves, they could choose which kin to identify with. Elros lived like a mortal, grew old and died.
Elrond chose to live as an immortal elf, and the emotional cost of these decisions will be explored in his tale.
According to the teacher, everything that appears in the series, including the Rings of Power, is not faithful to what Tolkien wrote. But he thinks it won’t be a problem for him.
Tolkien stated that he wanted other hands to be added to his universe.
In light of that, says Laura Crossley, the author would probably “be glad to see her creation still so beloved and still expanding”.
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source: Noticias
