Philosophy And Fantasy
...One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all
and in the Darkness bind them"
(1 LotR II,2 The Council of Elrond)
One of the masters of British Literature, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien has
the unique ability to create a fantasy world in which exists a nearly
endless supply of parallelisms to reality. By mastering his own world and
his own language and becoming one with his fantasy, Tolkien is able to
create wonderful symbolism and meaning out of what would otherwise be
considered nonsense. Thus, when one decides to study The Ruling Ring, or
The One Ring, in Tolkien's trilogy "Lord of the Rings", one must not simply
perform an examination of the ring itself, but rather a complex analysis of
the events which take place from the time of the ring's creation until the
time of its destruction. Concurrently, to develop a more complete
understanding of the symbolic nature of the ring, one must first develop a
symbolic understanding of the characters and events that are relevant to
the story. This essay begins with a brief background of Tolkien's life,
followed by a thorough history of the "One Ring" including its creation,
its symbolic significance, its effect on mortals, and its eventual
destruction. Also, this essay will compare Tolkien's Ring to the Rhinegold
Ring of Norse mythology, and will also show how many of the characters in
the trilogy lend themselves to Christ-figure status. By examining the Ring
from these perspectives, a clearer understanding of its symbolic
significance will be reached.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an English scholar and storyteller, became
fascinated by language at an early age during his schooling at,
particularly the languages of Northern Europe, both ancient and modern.
This affinity for language did not only lead to his profession, but also...
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