New Style...Why?

[Selmo]

"The Hobbit" was written as a childrens' book.

"The Lord of the Rings" was first conceived as a sequel, another book for children, and the first chapter is written in the same style as "The Hobbit". However, it quickly grew into something deeper and darker as it developed in Tolkien's mind, becoming more adult and much longer than intended.

[Mithalwen]

Selmo has put it in a nutshell, but if you want more information then the Humphrey Carpenter biography is a good place to start. If you want to follow the precise development then the History of the LOTR volumes of HoME are much less daunting (in my opinion) than the rest.

[davem]

Well, The Hobbit is a children's book & LotR is an 'adult' book certainly but maybe its a bit more complex. Perhaps the explanation is that TH was written for his children while LotR was written for himself. He knew that his children wanted to be entertained, so he produced a lighthearted romp which would serve as a perfect bedtime read. One only has to read Roverandom (also writen for his children) to see that they liked that kind of thing - fast moving adventure centred around a likeable little hero.

LotR certainly starts out the same way, & while his own children had grown up by the time he began it he still had in mind the audience of TH when he started to write it. Its clear from HoME though, that pretty soon he was writing, as I said, for himself. So rather than considering others he began considering himself. If there is a difference between the two works - beyond the obvious one of childrens book vs adult book - I think its that: LotR was the kind of story he wanted to write while TH was the kind of story his children had wanted him to write.

[Boromir88]

I think its a lot of things contribute between the two differences, you can definately tell differences. I recently picked up The Hobbit (since I didn't read it yet, didn't get the chance in school like a lot of people), and there are some big differences. I notice the dwarves are more rude, and ill-mannered, sort of how Gimli was in TTT (PJ's version when in The Golden Hall). You might say this is biasism, since I've read The Hobbit once (and after I've read LOTR several times) that I was shocked to see how the dwarves acted, but then again they are two different styles.

I think one is The Hobbit started out as a bed time story to his kids, and LOTR was more for adults. To expand upon davem's point, since I think he's on to something...Wasn't LOTR written after Tolkien's experiences in the War? War can definately change a man, that's not saying Tolkien was crazy after the war, but his feelings could have changed. He went to war thinking it would make the world a better place in the end, and when he returned home, he realized it wasn't so. Depression, lots of destructiong, and loss of lives. Could have changed his view on life, explaining the contrast between the two.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Wasn't LOTR written after Tolkien's experiences in the War? War can definately change a man, that's not saying Tolkien was crazy after the war, but his feelings could have changed. He went to war thinking it would make the world a better place in the end, and when he returned home, he realized it wasn't so. Depression, lots of destructiong, and loss of lives. Could have changed his view on life, explaining the contrast between the two.

Actually, Tolkien did almost ALL of his writing after the First World War. The Hobbit was written in the 30s, and the Lord of the Rings was written in late 30s and during the 40s. Although the war certainly influenced Tolkien's understanding of what war does, and this shows in the LR, I don't think that Tolkien's war experiences actually had anything to do with The Hobbit, and its differences from the LR. The timing isn't right.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Actually, Tolkien did almost ALL of his writing after the First World War. The Hobbit was written in the 30s, and the Lord of the Rings was written in late 30s and during the 40s. Although the war certainly influenced Tolkien's understanding of what war does, and this shows in the LR, I don't think that Tolkien's war experiences actually had anything to do with The Hobbit, and its differences from the LR. The timing isn't right.

Certainly his writings pre-war were more 'romantic', & the mythology as such found some its form & philosophical underpinnings as a result of his experiences in the trenches & through the loss of his friends.

I would, however, speculate that only someone who had been through the brutal realities of modern warfare, could have written the account of the Battle of Five Armies as it appears in The Hobbit, with all the cynicism, greed & backbiting involved in its cause & the fact that the 'good guys' only join together when a worse enemy appears. If the Goblins & Wargs hadn't turned up our 'heroes' would probably have slaughtered each other & if the Dwarves had won they would probably have hanged Bilbo as a 'traitor'.

[Formendacil]

Agreed. I'm not saying that World War I (the major war for Tolkien) didn't influence the Hobbit, merely I'm pointing out that it occurred before either work was written, and so cannot be held accountable for the differences in style.

As for World War II, although it occurred during the writing of the Lord of the Rings, I would not hold it accountable either, as it was apparent from a very early stage of the writing of that book (before War broke out or had become truly bad in Britain) that it was destined to be much darker and deeper.