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nIfnit weren’t for Tolkien, there wouldn’t be nearly so many geeky jokesnabout rings (precious rings), nor so many Halloween costumes with bignfeet or pointy ears. Our birthday boy’s books, The Hobbit andnThe Lord of the Rings, have been popular since their originalnpublication. They rank among the most popular books of the twentiethncentury, and they have famously inspired movies and even tourism innNew Zealand to see where the movies were (are being) filmed.
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nI’mnlooking forward to Part 1 of The Hobbit (thenmovie), due to be out at the end of this year. Here is anpreview.
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Thenbooks inspired more than just movie adaptations: they inspired annentire genre. Tolkien is considered the father of modern fantasynliterature – high fantasy, which takes place in an invented worldnand in which large themes of Good and Evil shake the very foundationsnof that world – and the popularity of The Lord of the Ringsnled to many more volumes of fantasy being written and published. Twongood examples of high fantasy series include Lloyd Alexander’snPrydain Chronicles and the Eragon books by Christopher Paolinin(the Inheritance Cycle).
Thenbooks inspired more than just movie adaptations: they inspired annentire genre. Tolkien is considered the father of modern fantasynliterature – high fantasy, which takes place in an invented worldnand in which large themes of Good and Evil shake the very foundationsnof that world – and the popularity of The Lord of the Ringsnled to many more volumes of fantasy being written and published. Twongood examples of high fantasy series include Lloyd Alexander’snPrydain Chronicles and the Eragon books by Christopher Paolinin(the Inheritance Cycle).n
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nThenLord of the Rings also inspired adaptations for radio andntheatre, plus artwork, music, video games, and many culturalnreferences.
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JohnnRonald Reuel Tolkien was born on this date in 1892 in South Africa.nWhen he was little, he was bitten by a large baboon spider and wasnalso briefly kidnapped by a house-boy who just wanted to show thenbeautiful baby off to his kraal. (The house-boy returned thenbaby the next morning, safe and sound!) When he was just three yearsnold, Tolkien went to England with his mother and brother, just for anfamily visit – but his father died in South Africa, so the Tolkiensnstayed in England. When J.R.R. was 12 years old, his mother died; shenleft guardianship of him and his brother to a Catholic priest.
JohnnRonald Reuel Tolkien was born on this date in 1892 in South Africa.nWhen he was little, he was bitten by a large baboon spider and wasnalso briefly kidnapped by a house-boy who just wanted to show thenbeautiful baby off to his kraal. (The house-boy returned thenbaby the next morning, safe and sound!) When he was just three yearsnold, Tolkien went to England with his mother and brother, just for anfamily visit – but his father died in South Africa, so the Tolkiensnstayed in England. When J.R.R. was 12 years old, his mother died; shenleft guardianship of him and his brother to a Catholic priest.n
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Tolkienngrew up to become a writer, a university professor, and a philologistn(one who studies written languages). Tolkien learned Latin, French,nand German from his mother at home, and during his schooling andncareer, he also learned Welsh, Finnish, and Old Norse. He made upnwhole languages for his invented Middle-earth, setting of ThenHobbit and The Lord of the Rings,nincluding Elvish (both Quenya and Sindarin), Dwarvish (Khuzdul),nEntish, and Black Speech. Many fantasynand science fiction books and movies have, since Tolkien’s time, alsonincluded invented languages such as Fremen from Frank Herbert’s Dunenand Klingon from the StarnTrek universe.
Tolkienngrew up to become a writer, a university professor, and a philologistn(one who studies written languages). Tolkien learned Latin, French,nand German from his mother at home, and during his schooling andncareer, he also learned Welsh, Finnish, and Old Norse. He made upnwhole languages for his invented Middle-earth, setting of ThenHobbit and The Lord of the Rings,nincluding Elvish (both Quenya and Sindarin), Dwarvish (Khuzdul),nEntish, and Black Speech. Many fantasynand science fiction books and movies have, since Tolkien’s time, alsonincluded invented languages such as Fremen from Frank Herbert’s Dunenand Klingon from the StarnTrek universe.n
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nCelebratenby reading and watching high fantasy today!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nGreat Day for the Yankees
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nAnniversary of patent for drinking straws
