The Tolkien Lore Podcast

"Leaf by Niggle" (aka "Tree and Leaf") is the closest thing Tolkien ever wrote to an autobiography, though it's still very much a fictional short story.  It gives us just a peek inside his personal aspirations and frustrations.

In this video I discuss the theory that Aragorn's choice of a family name, "Telcontar," is intended as way to make Tolkien a part of his own mythology.  I discuss the pros and cons of the theory, but if you think I missed something, chime in with a comment!

Perhaps Tolkien's only foray into outright comedy, Farmer Giles of Ham is humorous on multiple levels, from its nature as a parody to the many language-based jokes Tolkien includes in the story.  It's a short, whimsical read very different from what most of us know Tolkien for, and well worth picking up.  I recommend picking up this compilation: https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Perilous-Realm-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0547154119/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1477875238&sr=1-4&keywords=farmer+giles+of+ham  Unfortunately I can't seem to find an edition with commentary to explain the jokes that require more learning, but this at least has several other stories worth having in your collection.

I had a hard time understanding the end of Tolkien's great story for a long time, and I'm sure many others have as well, so here's what I think it really means.  

My previous video on the character arcs of all four hobbits is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOQ7dIVsktQ 

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Bilbo's riddle contest with Gollum is much more than just a game....  

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This video is for people who've never read the Silmarillion, or who need a quick refresher because it's been too long.  I cover the basics of what it's all about, and future videos will get into a bit more detail.  Or if you want the long version, pick up the book! https://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544338014/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483330919&sr=8-1&keywords=silmarillion  Other videos I've done on Silmarillion topics:  Numenor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqDslbXjg70  Beren & Luthien: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123Pml3Zeko  Story of Kullervo (basis for Turin Turambar): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-FtGIqizCY

One of my pet peeves when it comes to movies and other videos/audio about Tolkien is that so many people don't seem to know how to pronounce things properly, despite the fact that Tolkien provided a pronunciation guide in the Lord of the Rings Appendices!  Here's some basic rules that should help you pronounce basically anything correctly.

Did you know the Hobbit you read isn't the Hobbit Tolkien originally wrote?  It's also not the one Bilbo originally wrote...

In my previous video about Tolkien's lecture/essay, "On Fairy Stories" (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMG5HhKK50), I focused on the theme of sub-creation.  Here, I want to discuss another concept, "eucatastrophe," which is a word Tolkien coined to describe it.  Here's the video where I discussed the them of sub-creation in the Silmarillion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOpbrkRe3Q

"On Fairy Stories" is a lecture delivered by Tolkien in which he goes over some of his thoughts on the fantasy genre, its purposes, proper audience, and value as an art form.  It's full of gems, so I only have time to cover one theme of the essay.