why do you enjoy Tolkien

[Orald]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Animated Skeleton
Posts: 43</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
there are many reasons someone could.

my favorite thing that is unique to tolkien are the languages.

</p>

[Lady Eowyn]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Haunting Spirit
Posts: 79</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: why do you enjoy Tolkien

I like Tolkien because I always loved stories about elves and wizards aso.
And I love ME. all the characters and languages he created.
For me Tolkien is a genius!!!

And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom</p>

[coprophage7]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Animated Skeleton
Posts: 28</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
why I enjoy him

I love how Tolkien created an entire world with geography, language, religion; everything!

</p>

[The Barrow-Wight]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wraith of Angmar
Posts: 1617</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: why I enjoy him

The scope and intricacies are what hooked me on Middle-Earth for so long.... the deep, convoluted histories that are so extensive as to be almost real.

And the characters! Each with his/her own wonderful personalities.

The Barrow-Wight (RKittle)
<font size="2">I usually haunt http://www.barrowdowns.comThe Barrow-Downs</a> and The Barrow-Downs http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgiMiddle-Earth Discussion Board</a>.</p>

[Balin999]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 197</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
re

i like tolkien because he describes everything so detailed and you can imagine the whole scenery , the feelings of the different characters the different landscapes and so on.
and you can read his books again and again it wont ever be boring
and i love his poetry and the whole idea of another world religion... is just great.
Tolkien rules!

</p>

[lorien de loth]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pile o' Bones
Posts: 11</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: why do you enjoy Tolkien

Apart from all things you have wrote above, on wich I agree, I also like Tolkien because I can read his words, his stories, his descriptions, ... as if were poetry: sometimes I read some fragments , some chapters, or poetry aloud, myself alone, or to somebody,and I feel really good.

I am reading now Tolkien Letters and I am falling in love even more (if it is possible) with Tolkien himself and his work.

</p>

[Hannah Burrows]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Haunting Spirit
Posts: 78</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
The Music

I love the music, his songs and poetry, I sing all the ryhmes in the books to myself. The moment I read the words on the page the tune comes to me, it feels like remembering something that I've forgotten. I'll be walking around at school or home humming the tunes to myself. My faves so far are Sam's Song (The one he sang in the tower in Mordor. It's so moving and I've found it makes an excellent lullaby for my nephews.), Bilbo's Song ( The one about him growing older that he sings to Frodo in Rivendale. It's so sad, and moving.), The Old Walking Song (Who can forget The Road goes ever, ever, on . . . Wonderful for long walks.), Water Hot (Comical and perfect for the shower <img src=smile.gif ALT=""> ), and The Inn Song (The cow jumped over the moon remade, how clever of him!). These make his world real to me, along with characters that are so complex that they are like old friends by the end of the book.

Okay, I'd say that I've rambled long enough. Bye!
<img src=cool.gif ALT="8)">

</p>

[the Lorien wanderer]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased
Posts: 4</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Genius

I think one of the reasons why everyone who reads Tolkien loves his books so much, is because his world exists. It did exist for Tolkien which is what makes it so real for all of us. The history and the legends and the races-that isn't solely a figment of his of imagination. I believe that all that is real for Tolkien. And I like to believe that he lived there for a little while.

</p>

[Zoe]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Haunting Spirit
Posts: 55</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Genius

I like Tolkien's work because:

a) The words flow. I can't think of a good metaphor right now, but yes. The words flow, and the prose is so poetic, if that's possible.
b) The world is real, like everyone seems to have said already.
c) Everything is so subtle, you can just read it and re-read it and never quite work out what it all means - in a good way.

</p>

[gamegie]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 135</TD><TD><img src=http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1285585&a=9527321&p=31346468 WIDTH=60 HEIGHT=60></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Genius

I love Tolkien and especially the Lord of the Rings because when I read the book, I enter the plot, the story and I can picture the land, geography and atmosphere.

I suppose it could be seen as escapism, well it might be.... <img src=smile.gif ALT="">

The work Tolkien has created is just so real, I would love to live in it.

Charming Humble Hobbit</p>

[Glornan]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased
Posts: 4</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Genius

i just love him. dunno why

(used to be Quam, but thought of a nicer, more Tolkien, name) </p>

[onewhitetree]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased
Posts: 3</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Genius

I love him because he creates such a beautiful world with his descriptions, but leaves just enough to the imagination for it to be unique to the reader. He creates the most vivid, raw emotion of any author I have ever read. In order to enjoy a book, one has to love the characters, and JRRT has a gift of making his characters realistic but still GOOD. Even Gollum was lovable.

And the poetry, my gosh, the poetry.

Sell crazy someplace else...We're all stocked up here. <a href=http://pub23.ezboard.com/bminasmorgul>Minas Morgul</a></p>

[Gwaihir the Windlord]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Essence of Darkness
Posts: 546</TD><TD><img src=http://www.geocities.com/gwindlord/eagle.jpg WIDTH=60 HEIGHT=60></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: why do you enjoy Tolkien

I enjoy the histories of Arda; a world that is at least as extensive as the real one is, to me, utterly enthralling.

Gwaihir the Windlord http://www.barrowdowns.comthe barrow-downs</A>
<FONT size="2.5">'Sing now, ye people of the Tower of Anor,
for the Realm of Sauron is ended for ever,
and the Dark Tower is thrown down.'
</p>

[Samwise of the shire]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
Posts: 125</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re:Man I'm having a hard time

Well I guess I enjoy Tolkien because...this is gonna sound lame but I cant think of anything else to say.....he writes good.Can you believe how LAME I am?Beacause he writes good,jeez what a poet,keep it up Shakespeare<img src=roll.gif ALT=":rollin"> g eyes.But in truth I have so many things about Tolkien that I like I cant name them all but one of the biggest reasons is the fact that-for example- when I read the part where Sam is looking for Frodo I all of a sudden relise-like it's the first time-how faithfull he is but I just dont relise it I sort of feel angerd,lost,panicked,in pain and really scared,sort of like I'm in his place that happens all through out the book,another thing I like about Tolkien is the fact that I can relate to certain charecters,and Tolkien does'nt add too much detail,so I can picture Pippin's curious green eyes sparkle when he smiles,or Frodo's face break into a rare smile,or Sam's golden brown curls bounce when he nodds his head or Merry's thoughtfull face when he's smoking his pipe.
But I love the poetry,I add tunes to the songs as well,Sam's song I put on the piano,I also love to sing Pippins Bath song-well the first couple of words-and as for the road goes ever on and on it has become a fairwell song when I go on LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG
walks.
Sam
Ps.I even name places I find after plants and all <img src=wink.gif ALT="">

</p>

tolkien is a great friend of my favorite author, c.s. lewis. what amazes me about these two great writers are they came from different Christian churches, but have inspired me with their friendship. C.S. Lewis is a well respected writer especially by fellow Christians from Protestant churches, while as we know, Tolkien is a devout Catholic. C.S. Lews had Chronicles of Narnia which reminds me of TLOR whom he dedicated to his fave godchild. I wonder if CSL was refering to one of JRRT's kids.

[littlemanpoet]

I enjoy Tolkien because
1) LOTR & his other works take me back into a time that has passed and never will be again
2) the land is so real; I want to go to the Shire, to Minas Tirith, to Dimrill Dale, Lorien, Rivendell, Bree
3) everything is wrought into a whole, the languages and the histories and the peoples who spoke the languages and lived the histories
4) Elves. Galadriel. Elrond.
5) The light, the lembas, the beauty
6) the sadness, especially of Galadriel's song and "fighting the long defeat"
7) the rebuilding of the Shire
8) Sam going home to Rose
9) Elessar and Arwen in the appendices
10) Gandalf's pipe rings and old Southfarthing

What a rich tapestry! And even the legends are fully wrought! In most works they're only hinted at and scarfed up for "seeming's" sake in order to give the false impression of something really being behind it, but with Tolkien the something really is behind it, and you go further back and further back and find that there are legends behind the legends and I could go on and on and ......

[Birdland]

Who know why a person responds to a book so deeply? When I was young I loved science fiction and fantasy books, and read all the "Greats", but I was in my angst-ridden, "realistic" phase when I discovered Tolkien, and the "Lord of the Rings" has been a faithful companion ever since.

But if you ask me to compare him to another favorite author of mine, I wouldn't choose a Sci Fi/Fantasy author, but Charles Dickens! (I reread some of his books as often as I do LoTR) I guess because, not only do both authors create beautiful, detailed settings and accessible "human" characters, but because both authors appeal to the "angels of our better natures." The people in their novels live and breathe, but overcome adversities in ways we can only hope to achieve.

My only regret is that Tolkien was not as prolific as Dickens. A few more novels like "Lord of the Rings" would have been wonderful!

[Balefalathiel]

If I'd write all the things that I love in Tolkien's books this reply would be very very long...

I think that the reason i really enjoy the Tolkein works is that they are books that one can read and stop and think. You can realy imagine the world and the thirst for knowledge of Middle-Earth drives you to find out all you can.

[Joy]

Why do I like Tolkien, what can I say? Maybe a quote from Bob the Tomato(VeggieTales) may help. "I laughed. I cried. It moved me." [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I have read many of the old classics, "The Illiad", "The Oddessy", "The Aneid", "Beowulf", Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", The Shakespherian plays, "The Legends of Camalot and King Authur" and many other classics from World Lit, especially the early British Lit. Lord of the Rings is in this class of writings. It will stand up in the midst of the writings of old and hold its own.

No other story (myth or lore) has such a detailed geneology and has been followed by so many, except for the Authurian Legend. I do not include Christianity, for I do not consider it to be myth or lore.

[Lush]

I love Tolkien because he hands each one of his readers "the keys to the kingdom" sort to speak, to a world that may never crumble, as long as we remember to pop in and visit it from time to time. Like Glenethor said on one completely unrelated thread, "I like being in Middle Earth."
And as Nabokov wrote, "I am thinking of of aurochs and angels, the secret of durable pigments, prophetic sonnets, the refuge of art. And this is the only immortality you and I may share..."
Dear J.R.R. has also inspired me to write more for my brother (all of my writing is directed at men, but the young sibling has been neglected far too long), so that he will remember me for something more than the "bad sister" who stays out too late and eats all the candy.

[goldwine]

As many of you have said, LOTR has been a friend to me too, for 20 years now! The beautiful imagery, the exciting battles, the warm relationships and those wonderfully descriptive passages of places that I will never see yet imagine so vividly! I told myself that I would just read FOTR before seeing the movie, but again I got hooked and had more late nights until I finished the appendix at the end of ROTK! I never fail to be encouraged, in a melancholy sort of way, by the end of the book.

[Glenethor]

There is something in this book that acts on some unconscious level with me. It stirs my inner Celtic Mystic, and makes me want to moon my enemies when I go into battle....

[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

Yes, I find ME a refreshing refuge from the here and now on occasion. I kinda like to hang out in Rivendell and Lorien the most. Sometimes I pay the price though, when I've had too much pizza before bed and I start dreaming of being chased on 'the Paths of the Dead!'
[img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img]

[Lush]

Glenethor, are you sure that's just 'pizza' that you're having too much of?
I for one, wouldn't mind visiting old Tom Bombadil and the lovely Goldberry at their house. Good food, soft beds, and lots of stories in between!
Enchantment-yes, that's why I like Tolkien, really.

[Tigerlily Gamgee]

I enjoy Tolkien's work because it provides an escape from our world. I find it amazing that he created this whole world, the people, the places, the languages, the history. It absolutly baffles my mind!!! He has to be a genius. Plus, his characters are so rich & well written that it is really hard not to fall in love with them!

[Lush]

Amen.

[Melime]

Tolkien is just awsome with his writing. All his charcters are just so real. His descriptions of places are so...dead point on that I can just close my eyes and BOOM! Im there.

There are so many more reasons, and all of them already mentioned. Tolkien is just...wow! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[Elven-Maiden]

I love LotR because I realized today that I don't live out in the middle of nowhere anymore. I live in Bree! Next time I go for a walk, I have to keep a look-out for hobbits. Everything else is perfect! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

And I'm an elven-princess! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Aralaithiel]

I love Tolkien because of his sheer genius. To be able to create a complete alternate world, in geography, cultures, languages, races, relationships...it totally overwhelms me.
And, it has become an old friend for me as well.
If I write any more, which I truly could, I would shut down this board because of overload!!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
I am an Elven Queen...or will become one in my story! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] And I hail from Lorien. I love my ME life!!!

[ February 18, 2002: Message edited by: Aralaithiel ]

why do i enjoy tolkien? well, for one, because languages are my hobby. and too, as so many of you have said, middle earth is just as real a place to me as the earth we now inhabit. tolkien put so much thought and labour into these books, they have an intricacy and an integrity that i have found very seldom elsewhere. for me, it is a pleasure of the highest order to read such a masterful work of literature as the lord of the rings.

I first read Tolkien as a young girl. I did not enjoy that first read. Now that I am older I have revisited Middle-earth and find that the complexities and mysteries that confounded me as a youth are what draw me in again and again. I find myself clamoring for more and more information about that world, and looking forward to the reading and re-reading of these beautiful histories. I do not simply read-I go to Middle-earth. Tolkien gave me a place to let my imagination fly free with the Windlords. The clever turn of a Wizard's phrase, the delicate languages of the Elves, the winsome cheer of the hobbits, and the ancient sadness that permeates this adventure, these are the reasons I love Tolkien.

[Aosama, the Wandering Star]

oh, there is just so much! I love it mostly because of the characters -even now, on the computer, i can see them standing before me, real people- the poetry -i add tunes to it too! I'm not the only one! and i thought I was just mental!- and also because Frodo's having to give up the Shire so others could have it reminds me of moving from my old farm in Ontario *sniff*sniff*boo*hoo* which was 100 ACRES OF PURE EDEN! I miss it, so I can identify with Frodo and the Elves leaving middle earth!

[Jessica Jade]

Oh gosh...what an overwhelming question! A better one might be: How can one NOT enjoy Tolkien? I mean, what's not to love about his works?

The beautiful, rich, vast world he created...not a Utopia, yet harmonious. His writing style-the way he describes everything in minute detail so that you can picture it so vividly in your mind...yet he is ambiguous enough to allow room for the readers' own interpretations. The poetry, and the incredible infinite wisdom he posesses. The wisdom that is revealed through the characters' dialouge, the poetry, and the events of the stories. The way he can tear your soul to pieces with anguish, yet make your heart soar with joy at the same time. Tolkien is definitely a genius. The beauty of his vision and words, the tragic, desperate wars, the grand epic, the emotional richness... his words have moved me, touched me in a way that no one and nothing has ever done. They have awakened in me pure, terrifying evil, hoplesness, chilling fear, true strength and heroisism,and most of all,hope in the darkest hour, courage, and perserverance in the face of adversity. I know his works are not an allegory, but his wisdom should be read by all...his wisdom reveals the raw truth about our world and our lives that anyone can relate to. How can anyone fail to be moved by such great literature? Tolkien was a great, great man. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[VanimaEdhel]

I love Tolkien for many reasons!

• His wording is just extraordinary. It is amazing...I cannot describe it. It has no emotion, yet so much emotion behind it
• Because he wrote so many books about Arda, going and reading a new book is like returning to an old friend. When I am down, it is like calling up an old friend and hearing stories involving people and places I've been to or seen
• There's another thing: the explicit detail...I feel as though I am there, gazing over the wall of whatever city he describes into the landscape ahead
• The characters' personalities are great. Just one page with a new character and I feel as though I know them intimately all ready
• Many other reasons that I cannot even put into words

[ April 07, 2002: Message edited by: VanimaEdhel ]

[mordor136]

it has a 3-d effect because of its rich history.