Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien
Encyclopedia
The works
of J. R. R. Tolkien
, most notably The Lord of the Rings
(1954/55) have exerted considerable influence since their publication. A culture of fandom
sprang up in the 1960s, but reception by the establishment of literary criticism
has been more slow. Nevertheless, academic studies
on Tolkien's works have been appearing at an increasing pace since the mid 1980s.
felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." The Sunday Times
seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." The New York Herald Tribune
also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time." W. H. Auden
, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded 'The Lord of the Rings' as a 'masterpiece,' furthermore stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of Milton's Paradise Lost
. Other supporters of the book from the literary world included Iris Murdoch
, Naomi Mitchison
, Richard Hughes
and C.S. Lewis.
Not all original reviews, however, were so kind. New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself." Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic
, criticized a perceived lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fiber." Even within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, reviews were mixed. Hugo Dyson
complained loudly at its readings, and Christopher Tolkien
records Dyson as "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, no more Elves.'" However, another Inkling, C. S. Lewis
, had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.
Several other authors in the genre, however, seemed to agree more with Dyson than Lewis. Science-fiction author David Brin
criticized the book for what he perceived to be its unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist
social structure, its positive depiction of the slaughter of the opposing forces, and its romantic
backward-looking worldview. Michael Moorcock
, another famous science fiction and fantasy author, is also critical of The Lord of the Rings. In his essay, "Epic Pooh
", he equates Tolkien's work to Winnie-the-Pooh
and criticizes it and similar works for their perceived Merry England
point of view. Incidentally, Moorcock met both Tolkien and Lewis in his teens and claims to have liked them personally, even though he does not admire them on artistic grounds.
In 1957, it was awarded the International Fantasy Award
. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books
and Ballantine
paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys. In the 2003 "Big Read
" survey conducted by the BBC
, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book." In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com
customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium."
Early avenues towards literary respectability of Tolkien's works were opened by Paul H. Kocher
's 1972 Master of Middle-Earth and Tom Shippey
's 1982 The Road to Middle-earth. The pace of scholarly publications on Tolkien has increased dramatically in the early 2000s. The dedicated journal Tolkien Studies
has been appearing since 2004.
Lobdell, evaluating the reception of Tolkien in the mainstream literary establishment (as opposed to dedicated Tolkien scholarship), cited the widely quoted negative critique by Edmund Wilson
and the partly favourable one by Edwin Muir
, concluding that "no 'mainstream critic' appreciated The Lord of the Rings or indeed was in a position to write criticism on it — most being unsure what it was and why readers liked it."
Richard C. West compiled an Annotated Checklist of Tolkien Criticism (2nd ed., Kent State University Press, 1981).
Marxist critics vilified Tolkien for his social conservativism, and for the "veiled geopolitics" implied in readings that interpret Sauron's Mordor and Sharkey's dictatorship in the Shire as parodies of Soviet Communism (Oberhelman 2006).
E.P. Thompson in 1981 blames the cold warrior mentality on "too much early reading of The Lord of the Rings". Inglis (1983) modifies earlier accusations of fascism against Tolkien, but still maintains that the novel is a "political fantasy" for escapist middle-class readers in modern capitalist society. Griffin (1985) examines Tolkien in relation to Italian neofascism, again suggesting a proximity of Tolkien's ideals to those of the radical right. Other Marxist critics, however, have been more positive towards Tolkien. While criticizing Tolkien's politics embedded in The Lord of the Rings, China Miéville
admires Tolkien's creative use of Norse mythology
, tragedy
, monsters, and subcreation
, as well as his criticism of allegory
. Ironically, negative interpretations of Tolkien run directly counter to the adoption of The Lord of the Rings into alternative "hippie" counter-culture and the environmental movement
.
of Anglo-Saxon, but has left a comparatively meagre output of academic publications. His works on Anglo-Saxon philology which have received the most recognition are Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
, a 1936 lecture on the interpretation of the Beowulf
epic, and his identification of what he termed the "AB language
", an early Middle English
literary register of the West Midlands
. Outside Anglo-Saxon philology, his 1939 lecture On Fairy Stories is of some importance to the literary genres of fantasy
or mythopoeia. His 1930 lecture A Secret Vice
addressed artistic languages at a time when the topic was of very limited visibility compared to the utilitarian projects of auxiliary languages. His 1955 valedictory lecture English and Welsh
expounds his philosophy of language
, notably his notion of native language and his views on linguistic aesthetics (c.f. cellar door
). Smith (2007) is a monograph on Tolkien's philosophy of language.
legendarium
which includes The Hobbit
, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion
.
Tolkien's The Hobbit, a children's book, was first published in 1937, and it proved popular. However, The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1954 through 1955, would give rise to the fandom as a cultural phenomenon.
Bootleg paperbacks published by Ace Books
eventually found their way into colleges in the U.S.A. in the 1960s. In response, a revised, authorised edition was published by Ballantine Books
. The "hippie
" following latched onto the book, giving its own spin to the work's interpretation, such as the Dark Lord Sauron
representing the United States
military draft
during the Vietnam War
, to the chagrin of the author who stated that "Many American fans enjoy the books in a way which I do not".
Many fantasy series written in the period were created by fans of The Lord of the Rings, such as the Shannara
books by Terry Brooks
.
There were active Tolkien enthusiasts within science fiction fandom
from the mid-1950s. The first organized Tolkien fan group was "The Fellowship of the Ring", founded by fans including Ted Johnstone and Bruce Pelz
at Pittcon, the 18th World Science Fiction Convention
(Worldcon
) in 1960. Articles on The Lord of the Rings had appeared regularly since 1962 in the science fiction fanzine
Niekas
, edited by Ed Meskys.
Widespread organized Tolkien fandom only took off with the publication of the second hardcover edition and the paperbacks in the 1960s. The Tolkien Society (U.K.) was founded in the U.K.
in 1969, and remains active as a registered charity. The society has two regular publications, a bi-monthly bulletin of news and information, Amon Hen, and an annual journal, Mallorn, featuring critical articles and essays on Tolkien's work. They host several annual events, including a conference held at Oxford, Oxonmoot.
The Mythopoeic Society
held its first Mythcon conference in 1970, which featured readings, a costume competition, an art show, and other events typical of science fiction conventions of the day.
painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that Tolkien is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of "high fantasy
. The production of such derivative works is sometimes of doubtful legality, because Tolkien's published works will remain copyrighted until 2043. The film, stage and merchandise rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are owned by Tolkien Enterprises
, while the rights of The Silmarillion and other material remain with The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Ltd.
. The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia dedicates separate entries to the reception of Tolkien in various European linguistic spheres of influence
, viz. Germanic
(Swedish
, Danish
, Norwegian
, German
, Dutch
), Slavic
(Russian
, Polish
; Hooker (2003) is a monograph on the history of reception in Russia
in particular), Romance
(French
, Italian
, Spanish
), Greek
, Finnish
, Turkish
and Hungarian
translation, besides reception in Japan
. A separate entry is dedicated to the reception of Tolkien in technological subculture
s.
A number of dedicated Tolkien Societies provide platforms for a combination of fandom and academic literary study in various countries. The most notable societies in the Anglosphere are The Tolkien Society (UK) and the Mythopoeic Society
(USA).
Mallorn is an annual journal produced by and for members of The Tolkien Society. It consists of long articles studying aspects of Tolkien's work, plus some artwork. The name is a reference to the Mallorn tree and an illustration of such a tree appears on the front of each issue. In the past it was issued every autumn, but since 2003 has been released in mid-summer.
Part of the collection of The Tolkien Society (UK) can be viewed online.
The Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft (DTG) is a German
association
dedicated to the study of the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Founded in 1997, it is based in Cologne
.
The DTG has more than 500 members (as of 2005) and is organised in a widespread network of local chapters. It is the main driving force of Tolkien reception in the German speaking countries (c.f. Honegger (2006); a Swiss Tolkien Society was founded in 1986, but dissolved in 2006; an Austrian Tolkien Society was founded in 2002). The DTG organized a seminar on Tolkien studies in Cologne in 2004, in Jena in 2005 and in Mainz in 2006. The conference proceedings are published in their Hither Shore yearbook.
, Sweden
in 1968 by members of Club Cosmos. They publish the members' magazine Långbottenbladet. Originally it was just called "The Tolkien Society" but when the British society of the same name was created the members added "of Sweden" to its name.
The Tolkien Society Forodrim was founded in Sweden
in 1972 and is one of the oldest Tolkien fan organizations. Forodrim was founded in a public toilet during a science fiction convention (possibly SF-Kongressen 1973) as a name change of Sam J Lundwall's Hyboria. Co-founders were Jörgen Peterzén and Anders Palm.
Forodrim has an especially active group interested in Tolkienian linguistics, Mellonath Daeron.
Forodrim is Sindarin
for "People of the North". The society is based in Stockholm
, but has spawned daughter-organizations in Gothenburg
and Malmö
.
illustrated The Lord of the Rings. There are two Danish Tolkien societies; Bri, the Danish Tolkien Society, and Imladris, which is a virtual community.
) is a registered society based in Finland
, founded on December 19, 2006. The main focus of the society is to improve the knowledge of J. R. R. Tolkien and his works in Finland as well as to maintain the virtual community
and thus the website
the society originated from. The many parts of the website contain a discussion forum, a wiki
and an IRC channel. KontuWiki has been credited in several Finnish Tolkien related publications since 2007. The society also organises meetings and other events for Tolkien fans from all over the country, one of these being a The Children of Húrin
releasing party in Tampere
, Finland on May 25, 2007.
Kontu is the Finnish translation
of "The Shire
".
A first effort at publication was made in the 1960s, but in order to comply with literary censorship in Soviet Russia
, the work was considerably abridged and transformed. The ideological danger of the book was seen in the "hidden allegory 'of the conflict between the individualist West and the totalitarian, Communist East.'" (Markova 2006), while, ironically, Marxist readings in the west conversely identified Tolkien's anti-industrial ideas as presented in the Shire with primitive communism
, in a struggle with the evil forces of technocratic capitalism
. Russian translations of The Lord of the Rings were published only after the collapse of the Soviet Union
, but then in great numbers, no less than ten official Russian translations appeared between 1990 and 2005 (Markova 2006). Tolkien fandom in Russia grew especially rapidly during the early 1990s at Moscow State University
. Many unofficial and partly fragmentary translations are in circulation. The first translation appearing in print was that by Kistyakovskij and Muraev (volume 1, published 1982).
Teiji Seta was an expert in classical Japanese literature and a haiku
poet, and Arduini (2006) regards the Seta and Tanaka translations as "almost perfect".
Shiro No Norite ("The White Rider") is a Tokyo-based group of fans, established in 1981. But reception of Tolkien's work among the Japanese public remained rather limited until the appearance of Jackson's films, after which there was a surge of interest.
In 2001, shortly before the release of the movies, the first Greek on-line community was formed in a promotional web site http://www.lordoftherings.gr which in 2002 founded an official group of fans under the name The Prancing Pony. The group is unofficially divided in two 'smials', in Athens
and Thessaloniki
.
During and after the release of the movies, further Tolkien-related literature was published in Greek (both original and translations) including biographies, reading companions etc.
Bibliography of J. R. R. Tolkien
-Fiction:*1936 Songs for the Philologists, with E.V. Gordon et al.*1937 The Hobbit or There and Back Again, ISBN 0-618-00221-9 .*1945 Leaf by Niggle *1945 The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, published in Welsh Review...
of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, most notably The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
(1954/55) have exerted considerable influence since their publication. A culture of fandom
Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion...
sprang up in the 1960s, but reception by the establishment of literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
has been more slow. Nevertheless, academic studies
Tolkien Studies
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is an academic journal publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D. C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger. It states that it is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press in the area of Tolkien...
on Tolkien's works have been appearing at an increasing pace since the mid 1980s.
Reviews of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings has received mixed reviews since its inception, ranging from terrible to excellent. Recent reviews in various media have been, in a majority, highly positive and Tolkien's literary achievement is slowly being acknowledged as a significant one. On its initial review the Sunday TelegraphSunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." The New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time." W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded 'The Lord of the Rings' as a 'masterpiece,' furthermore stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of Milton's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
. Other supporters of the book from the literary world included Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch
Dame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...
, Naomi Mitchison
Naomi Mitchison
Naomi May Margaret Mitchison, CBE was a Scottish novelist and poet. She was appointed CBE in 1981; she was also entitled to call herself Lady Mitchison, CBE since 5 October 1964 .- Childhood and family background :Naomi Margaret Haldane was...
, Richard Hughes
Richard Hughes (writer)
Richard Arthur Warren Hughes OBE was a British writer of poems, short stories, novels and plays.He was born in Weybridge, Surrey. His father was a civil servant Arthur Hughes, and his mother Louisa Grace Warren who had been brought up in Jamaica...
and C.S. Lewis.
Not all original reviews, however, were so kind. New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself." Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, criticized a perceived lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fiber." Even within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, reviews were mixed. Hugo Dyson
Hugo Dyson
Henry Victor Dyson Dyson , generally known as Hugo Dyson and who signed his writings H. V. D. Dyson, was an English academic and a member of the Inklings literary group. He was a committed Christian, and together with J.R.R. Tolkien, he helped persuade C.S...
complained loudly at its readings, and Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
records Dyson as "lying on the couch, and lolling and shouting and saying, 'Oh God, no more Elves.'" However, another Inkling, C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.
Several other authors in the genre, however, seemed to agree more with Dyson than Lewis. Science-fiction author David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
criticized the book for what he perceived to be its unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
social structure, its positive depiction of the slaughter of the opposing forces, and its romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
backward-looking worldview. Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, another famous science fiction and fantasy author, is also critical of The Lord of the Rings. In his essay, "Epic Pooh
Epic Pooh
Epic Pooh is a 1978 article by the British science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, which reviews the field of epic fantasy, with a particular focus on epic fantasy written for children. The article has proven controversial amongst fans and writers of fantasy literature, particularly for Moorcock's...
", he equates Tolkien's work to Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
and criticizes it and similar works for their perceived Merry England
Merry England
"Merry England", or in more jocular, archaic spelling "Merrie England", refers to an English autostereotype, a utopian conception of English society and culture based on an idyllic pastoral way of life that was allegedly prevalent at some time between the Middle Ages and the onset of the Industrial...
point of view. Incidentally, Moorcock met both Tolkien and Lewis in his teens and claims to have liked them personally, even though he does not admire them on artistic grounds.
In 1957, it was awarded the International Fantasy Award
International Fantasy Award
The International Fantasy Award was an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy book and, in 1951-1953, the best non-fiction book of interest to science fiction and fantasy readers. The IFA was given by an international panel of prominent fans and professionals in 1951-1955 and...
. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
and Ballantine
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys. In the 2003 "Big Read
Big Read
The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time...
" survey conducted by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book." In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium."
Literary criticism
The works of Tolkien have generated a body of academic research, studying different facets such as- Tolkien as a writer of fantasyHigh fantasyHigh fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
literature - Tolkien's invented languages
Early avenues towards literary respectability of Tolkien's works were opened by Paul H. Kocher
Paul H. Kocher
Paul Harold Kocher was an author and professor of English. He wrote extensively on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien as well as on aspects of Elizabethan English philosophy and literature, and the Franciscan missions of 18th and 19th century California.Born Paul Harold Kocher in Trinidad, he later...
's 1972 Master of Middle-Earth and Tom Shippey
Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey is a scholar of medieval literature, including that of Anglo-Saxon England, and of modern fantasy and science fiction, in particular the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, about whom he has written several scholarly studies. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars...
's 1982 The Road to Middle-earth. The pace of scholarly publications on Tolkien has increased dramatically in the early 2000s. The dedicated journal Tolkien Studies
Tolkien Studies
Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is an academic journal publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D. C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger. It states that it is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press in the area of Tolkien...
has been appearing since 2004.
Lobdell, evaluating the reception of Tolkien in the mainstream literary establishment (as opposed to dedicated Tolkien scholarship), cited the widely quoted negative critique by Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson
Edmund Wilson was an American writer and literary and social critic and noted man of letters.-Early life:Wilson was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Edmund Wilson, Sr., was a lawyer and served as New Jersey Attorney General. Wilson attended The Hill School, a college preparatory...
and the partly favourable one by Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir was an Orcadian poet, novelist and translator born on a farm in Deerness on the Orkney Islands. He was remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry in plain language with few stylistic preoccupations....
, concluding that "no 'mainstream critic' appreciated The Lord of the Rings or indeed was in a position to write criticism on it — most being unsure what it was and why readers liked it."
Richard C. West compiled an Annotated Checklist of Tolkien Criticism (2nd ed., Kent State University Press, 1981).
Marxist critics vilified Tolkien for his social conservativism, and for the "veiled geopolitics" implied in readings that interpret Sauron's Mordor and Sharkey's dictatorship in the Shire as parodies of Soviet Communism (Oberhelman 2006).
E.P. Thompson in 1981 blames the cold warrior mentality on "too much early reading of The Lord of the Rings". Inglis (1983) modifies earlier accusations of fascism against Tolkien, but still maintains that the novel is a "political fantasy" for escapist middle-class readers in modern capitalist society. Griffin (1985) examines Tolkien in relation to Italian neofascism, again suggesting a proximity of Tolkien's ideals to those of the radical right. Other Marxist critics, however, have been more positive towards Tolkien. While criticizing Tolkien's politics embedded in The Lord of the Rings, China Miéville
China Miéville
China Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
admires Tolkien's creative use of Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
, tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
, monsters, and subcreation
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. The result may sometimes be called a constructed world, conworld or sub-creation. The term world-building was popularized at science fiction writer's workshops during the 1970s...
, as well as his criticism of allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
. Ironically, negative interpretations of Tolkien run directly counter to the adoption of The Lord of the Rings into alternative "hippie" counter-culture and the environmental movement
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
.
Reception of non-fiction works
Tolkien was an accomplished philologistPhilology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
of Anglo-Saxon, but has left a comparatively meagre output of academic publications. His works on Anglo-Saxon philology which have received the most recognition are Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
Beowulf: the monsters and the critics
"Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" was a 1936 lecture given by J. R. R. Tolkien on literary criticism on the Old English heroic epic poem Beowulf...
, a 1936 lecture on the interpretation of the Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
epic, and his identification of what he termed the "AB language
AB language
In English philology, AB language refers to the early Middle English dialect of Ancrene Wisse and the Katherine Group . The 'A' and 'B' refer to extracts in Hall's Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250 where 'A' is from the Katherine Group texts in MS Bodley 34 and 'B' is from Ancrene...
", an early Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
literary register of the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
. Outside Anglo-Saxon philology, his 1939 lecture On Fairy Stories is of some importance to the literary genres of fantasy
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
or mythopoeia. His 1930 lecture A Secret Vice
A Secret Vice
A Secret Vice is the title of a lecture written by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1931, given at a conference. Some twenty years later, Tolkien revised the manuscript for a second presentation....
addressed artistic languages at a time when the topic was of very limited visibility compared to the utilitarian projects of auxiliary languages. His 1955 valedictory lecture English and Welsh
English and Welsh
English and Welsh is the title of J. R. R. Tolkien'svaledictory address to the University of Oxford of 1955.The lecture sheds light on Tolkien's conceptions of the connections of race, ethnicity and language....
expounds his philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
, notably his notion of native language and his views on linguistic aesthetics (c.f. cellar door
Cellar door
The English compound noun cellar door is commonly used as an example of a word or phrase which is beautiful in terms of phonaesthetics with no regard for semantics...
). Smith (2007) is a monograph on Tolkien's philosophy of language.
Fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earthMiddle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
which includes The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
.
Tolkien's The Hobbit, a children's book, was first published in 1937, and it proved popular. However, The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1954 through 1955, would give rise to the fandom as a cultural phenomenon.
Bootleg paperbacks published by Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
eventually found their way into colleges in the U.S.A. in the 1960s. In response, a revised, authorised edition was published by Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
. The "hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
" following latched onto the book, giving its own spin to the work's interpretation, such as the Dark Lord Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
representing the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, to the chagrin of the author who stated that "Many American fans enjoy the books in a way which I do not".
Many fantasy series written in the period were created by fans of The Lord of the Rings, such as the Shannara
Shannara
Shannara is an epic fantasy series of novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and continuing through Bearers of the Black Staff which was released on August 24, 2010, as well as a prequel, First King of Shannara...
books by Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks
Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...
.
There were active Tolkien enthusiasts within science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
from the mid-1950s. The first organized Tolkien fan group was "The Fellowship of the Ring", founded by fans including Ted Johnstone and Bruce Pelz
Bruce Pelz
Bruce Edward Pelz was a US science fiction fan. He was highly active in the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society and a major SMOF, co-chairing the 30th World Science Fiction Convention. He also wrote filksongs and was a master costumer.- Early life :Pelz spent most of his childhood in New York...
at Pittcon, the 18th World Science Fiction Convention
18th World Science Fiction Convention
The 18th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as Pittcon, was held September 3–5, 1960, at the Penn-Sheraton Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
(Worldcon
Worldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
) in 1960. Articles on The Lord of the Rings had appeared regularly since 1962 in the science fiction fanzine
Science fiction fanzine
A science fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day...
Niekas
Niekas
Niekas is a science fiction fanzine published from 1962–1998 by Ed Meskys of New Hampshire. It won the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Fanzine, and was twice more nominated, losing in 1966 to ERB-dom and in 1989 to File 770.Originally, Meskys Niekas (from Lithuanian: nothing or nobody) is a science...
, edited by Ed Meskys.
Widespread organized Tolkien fandom only took off with the publication of the second hardcover edition and the paperbacks in the 1960s. The Tolkien Society (U.K.) was founded in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1969, and remains active as a registered charity. The society has two regular publications, a bi-monthly bulletin of news and information, Amon Hen, and an annual journal, Mallorn, featuring critical articles and essays on Tolkien's work. They host several annual events, including a conference held at Oxford, Oxonmoot.
The Mythopoeic Society
Mythopoeic Society
The Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of mythopoeia, fantasy and mythic literature. The group focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on works written by J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These authors were members of The Inklings, an...
held its first Mythcon conference in 1970, which featured readings, a costume competition, an art show, and other events typical of science fiction conventions of the day.
Influence
The works of Tolkien have served as the inspiration to manypainters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that Tolkien is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of "high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
. The production of such derivative works is sometimes of doubtful legality, because Tolkien's published works will remain copyrighted until 2043. The film, stage and merchandise rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are owned by Tolkien Enterprises
Tolkien Enterprises
Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a trading name for a division of the Saul Zaentz Company based in Berkeley, California which owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's two most famous literary works; The Lord of the Rings and...
, while the rights of The Silmarillion and other material remain with The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Ltd.
Tolkien Estate
The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the late J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright in his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the Estate to subsidiary entities such as the J.R.R. Tolkien Discretionary Settlement and the...
By region
Outside English-speaking countries, The Lord of the Rings has to a significant extent been received in translationTranslations of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien appeared 1954–55 in the original English. It has since been translated, with various degrees of success, into dozens of other languages. Tolkien, an expert in Germanic philology, scrutinized those that were under preparation during his lifetime, and...
. The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia dedicates separate entries to the reception of Tolkien in various European linguistic spheres of influence
Sprachraum
Sprachraum is a linguistic term used to designate a geographical region/district where a language, dialect, group or family of languages is spoken. The German word Sprachraum literally means "language area"....
, viz. Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
(Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
), Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
(Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
; Hooker (2003) is a monograph on the history of reception in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in particular), Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
(French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
translation, besides reception in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. A separate entry is dedicated to the reception of Tolkien in technological subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
s.
A number of dedicated Tolkien Societies provide platforms for a combination of fandom and academic literary study in various countries. The most notable societies in the Anglosphere are The Tolkien Society (UK) and the Mythopoeic Society
Mythopoeic Society
The Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of mythopoeia, fantasy and mythic literature. The group focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on works written by J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These authors were members of The Inklings, an...
(USA).
United Kingdom
The Tolkien Society was formed in 1969 as an educational charity in the UK, but has a worldwide membership. The society publishes a regular bulletin called Amon Hen, with articles, artwork and occasional fiction. The society has three regular UK gatherings: an Annual General Meeting and Dinner; a Seminar with a mix of serious and lighthearted talks; and the Oxonmoot, a regular September gathering organised by the British Tolkien Society..Mallorn is an annual journal produced by and for members of The Tolkien Society. It consists of long articles studying aspects of Tolkien's work, plus some artwork. The name is a reference to the Mallorn tree and an illustration of such a tree appears on the front of each issue. In the past it was issued every autumn, but since 2003 has been released in mid-summer.
Part of the collection of The Tolkien Society (UK) can be viewed online.
German-speaking Europe
The German translation of The Hobbit appeared in 1957 (translated by Walter Scherf), and that of The Lord of the Rings in 1972 (translated by Margaret Carroux and Ebba-Margareta von Freymann).The Deutsche Tolkien Gesellschaft (DTG) is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
association
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
dedicated to the study of the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Founded in 1997, it is based in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
The DTG has more than 500 members (as of 2005) and is organised in a widespread network of local chapters. It is the main driving force of Tolkien reception in the German speaking countries (c.f. Honegger (2006); a Swiss Tolkien Society was founded in 1986, but dissolved in 2006; an Austrian Tolkien Society was founded in 2002). The DTG organized a seminar on Tolkien studies in Cologne in 2004, in Jena in 2005 and in Mainz in 2006. The conference proceedings are published in their Hither Shore yearbook.
Sweden
The Tolkien Society of Sweden is the world's first J. R. R. Tolkien society, started in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1968 by members of Club Cosmos. They publish the members' magazine Långbottenbladet. Originally it was just called "The Tolkien Society" but when the British society of the same name was created the members added "of Sweden" to its name.
The Tolkien Society Forodrim was founded in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1972 and is one of the oldest Tolkien fan organizations. Forodrim was founded in a public toilet during a science fiction convention (possibly SF-Kongressen 1973) as a name change of Sam J Lundwall's Hyboria. Co-founders were Jörgen Peterzén and Anders Palm.
Forodrim has an especially active group interested in Tolkienian linguistics, Mellonath Daeron.
Forodrim is Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
for "People of the North". The society is based in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, but has spawned daughter-organizations in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
Denmark
In Denmark, Tolkien became well known in the 1970s and has considerably influenced Danish language fantasy literature since. In 1977, Queen Margrethe II of DenmarkMargrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
illustrated The Lord of the Rings. There are two Danish Tolkien societies; Bri, the Danish Tolkien Society, and Imladris, which is a virtual community.
Norway
The Hobbit appeared in Norwegian translation in 1972 and The Lord of the Rings followed from 1973 to 1975 (Tiden Norsk Forlag). Both translations were harshly criticized for errors and inconsistencies and complaints resulted in a new translation of LotR, published in 1980/81. By the late 1980s, Tolkien's works were well known to the Norwegian public. A translation of the Silmarillion appeared in 1994. The unsatisfactory Hobbit translation was replaced only in 1997. By the mid 1990s, the popularity of Tolkien had risen to a level that made viable translations of his minor works. Arthedain - The Tolkien Society of Norway was founded in 1981.Finland
Kontu Internet Community (Verkkoyhteisö Kontu ry in FinnishFinnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
) is a registered society based in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, founded on December 19, 2006. The main focus of the society is to improve the knowledge of J. R. R. Tolkien and his works in Finland as well as to maintain the virtual community
Virtual community
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals...
and thus the website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
the society originated from. The many parts of the website contain a discussion forum, a wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
and an IRC channel. KontuWiki has been credited in several Finnish Tolkien related publications since 2007. The society also organises meetings and other events for Tolkien fans from all over the country, one of these being a The Children of Húrin
The Children of Húrin
The Children of Húrin is an epic fantasy novel which forms the completion of a tale by J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote the original version of the story in the late 1910s, revised it several times later, but did not complete it before his death in 1973...
releasing party in Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
, Finland on May 25, 2007.
Kontu is the Finnish translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of "The Shire
Shire (Middle-earth)
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in...
".
Russia
Interest in Russia awoke soon after the publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1955, long before the first Russian translation.A first effort at publication was made in the 1960s, but in order to comply with literary censorship in Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
, the work was considerably abridged and transformed. The ideological danger of the book was seen in the "hidden allegory 'of the conflict between the individualist West and the totalitarian, Communist East.'" (Markova 2006), while, ironically, Marxist readings in the west conversely identified Tolkien's anti-industrial ideas as presented in the Shire with primitive communism
Primitive communism
Primitive communism is a term used by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to describe what they interpreted as early forms of communism: As a model, primitive communism is usually used to describe early hunter-gatherer societies, that had no hierarchical social class structures or capital accumulation...
, in a struggle with the evil forces of technocratic capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. Russian translations of The Lord of the Rings were published only after the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, but then in great numbers, no less than ten official Russian translations appeared between 1990 and 2005 (Markova 2006). Tolkien fandom in Russia grew especially rapidly during the early 1990s at Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. Many unofficial and partly fragmentary translations are in circulation. The first translation appearing in print was that by Kistyakovskij and Muraev (volume 1, published 1982).
Japan
The Hobbit appeared in a Japanese translation in 1965 (Hobitto no Boken) and The Lord of the Rings from 1972 to 1975 (Yubiwa Monogatari), both translated by Teiji Seta (1916–1979), in 1992 revised by Seta's assistant Akiko Tanaka. In 1982, Tanaka translated the Silmarillion (Sirumariru no Monogatari).Teiji Seta was an expert in classical Japanese literature and a haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
poet, and Arduini (2006) regards the Seta and Tanaka translations as "almost perfect".
Shiro No Norite ("The White Rider") is a Tokyo-based group of fans, established in 1981. But reception of Tolkien's work among the Japanese public remained rather limited until the appearance of Jackson's films, after which there was a surge of interest.
Greece
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were published in Greek by Kedros during the 1970s, each by different translators. In the mid-90s Aiolos published Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.In 2001, shortly before the release of the movies, the first Greek on-line community was formed in a promotional web site http://www.lordoftherings.gr which in 2002 founded an official group of fans under the name The Prancing Pony. The group is unofficially divided in two 'smials', in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
.
During and after the release of the movies, further Tolkien-related literature was published in Greek (both original and translations) including biographies, reading companions etc.