The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - The Significance of the Shire

Lalwendë · 10-03-2004, 09:55 AM

What I want to say, I have already said before in another thread which was about 'reality', but I want to say it again anyway - put into the context of this thread of course.

The Shire, to me, is redolent of 'home'. It is a small, intimate place, very much a community, and it is full of familiar touchstones. There are pubs, people smoke, there are gossips and self-important mayors and proto-policemen. It reminds me of growing up in rural England, so it is very much a real place to me, and no doubt to many other readers, whether urban, English, American or anything else. It does symbolise a place which is familiar even if we have not been there. It is also the most fully drawn place in Middle Earth, and by that I mean it is described the most vividly; perhaps this is to be expected as the chief protagonist, Frodo, comes from there.

The Shire is not the only beautiful place in Middle Earth, but it is presented to us as the most real, the most recognisable place. I think the significance of this is that as we recognise it so much, we are also determined that The Shire will be 'saved'. I think this is one area where Tolkien's own particular personal politics come through strongly. He felt a deep emotional attachment to the concept of the English countryside and to the idyllic sense of rural life and this is very clearly mirrored in his writing about The Shire. It is presented as a place to be cherished and preserved.

An interesting aspect of this is that the rural idyll is not quite so perfect. Poverty is and always has been a very real spectre haunting England's rural areas. The countryside is also brutal at times - the animals are destined to become meat, the people are often suspicious of 'outsiders' and all manner of crimes (from pub stay-behinds to badger baiting) can go undetected. Tolkien has chosen to reflect the idealised vision of the countryside - and I don't condemn him for this, as in portraying something perfect, it makes it all the more powerful a symbol of something which we know we want to be saved and protected.

10-03-2004, 09:55 AM	#28
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	What I want to say, I have already said before in another thread which was about 'reality', but I want to say it again anyway - put into the context of this thread of course. The Shire, to me, is redolent of 'home'. It is a small, intimate place, very much a community, and it is full of familiar touchstones. There are pubs, people smoke, there are gossips and self-important mayors and proto-policemen. It reminds me of growing up in rural England, so it is very much a real place to me, and no doubt to many other readers, whether urban, English, American or anything else. It does symbolise a place which is familiar even if we have not been there. It is also the most fully drawn place in Middle Earth, and by that I mean it is described the most vividly; perhaps this is to be expected as the chief protagonist, Frodo, comes from there. The Shire is not the only beautiful place in Middle Earth, but it is presented to us as the most real, the most recognisable place. I think the significance of this is that as we recognise it so much, we are also determined that The Shire will be 'saved'. I think this is one area where Tolkien's own particular personal politics come through strongly. He felt a deep emotional attachment to the concept of the English countryside and to the idyllic sense of rural life and this is very clearly mirrored in his writing about The Shire. It is presented as a place to be cherished and preserved. An interesting aspect of this is that the rural idyll is not quite so perfect. Poverty is and always has been a very real spectre haunting England's rural areas. The countryside is also brutal at times - the animals are destined to become meat, the people are often suspicious of 'outsiders' and all manner of crimes (from pub stay-behinds to badger baiting) can go undetected. Tolkien has chosen to reflect the idealised vision of the countryside - and I don't condemn him for this, as in portraying something perfect, it makes it all the more powerful a symbol of something which we know we want to be saved and protected. __________________ Gordon's alive!