What would LOTR be like without The Silmarillion and The Hobbit? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 05-28-2006, 01:45 AM

You make an interesting point. All three are interconnected & dependent on each other. So, without all TH & The Sil Tolkien could never have produced LotR.

However, from the reader's viewpoint I don't think all three are 'necessary' - ie, you don't need to have read The Sil to understand & appreciate, even love, TH & LotR. Neither do you need to have read TH & The Sil to love LotR, or The Sil & LotR to love TH. All three works can stand alone for the reader, as they could not have done for the Author.

05-28-2006, 01:45 AM	#2
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	You make an interesting point. All three are interconnected & dependent on each other. So, without all TH & The Sil Tolkien could never have produced LotR. However, from the reader's viewpoint I don't think all three are 'necessary' - ie, you don't need to have read The Sil to understand & appreciate, even love, TH & LotR. Neither do you need to have read TH & The Sil to love LotR, or The Sil & LotR to love TH. All three works can stand alone for the reader, as they could not have done for the Author. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."