12/20/2023 0 Comments Middle earth map from book![]() ![]() In my immature youth I avoided much fiction in the mistaken belief that it would unduly cramp any creative impulses I aspired to I now see that a great work of fiction frequently borrows freely from its predecessors while transforming and transfiguring the material, and that wider reading of fiction then may well have been to my advantage. It’s a poor work, I feel, that gives nothing back to its reader. The strength of a book, sometimes even its worth, lies often in its resonances, like the echoes in a cavernous space rebounding back to the caller. Some will prove extremely dangerous, and the travellers will often only survive by the skin of their teeth but in the main the places of safety will be shown to be where several days may be spent and plans laid almost ignoring the urgency of the mission. These locations will by and large feature habitations, whether in buildings or in woodland settings. In a there-and-back journey such as the hobbits undertake there will be many rests taken, in the open, in overnight camps or rough shelters, but temporary stops are not what I want to discuss instead I shall compare and contrast the places designed for respite, rest and recuperation between Hobbiton and the Rauros Falls, where the fellowship breaks up. I now want to consider stopping places, those places where Frodo and his companions, and certain others, stay for a time during the course of The Fellowship of the Ring. I’ve also looked at the significance of locations, in particular crossing places and portals. I’ve discussed the place of allegory, Tolkien’s use of colour, morality in the trilogy, and the One Ring. In my series Talking Tolkien I’ve looked at several motifs that have occurred to me so far during my sixth read of The Lord of the Rings. Tree of Life stained glass window design after Louis Tiffany ![]()
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