08 June 2010

An imaginary world created by a brilliant author to which I am still hooked!!!!

Something that this author would never have thought of, is that so many years after his death, his name would be associated with one of the greatest movies of all times.....
If you are wondering whom I am talking about, it is the author, J.R.R Tolkien, a man whom I have come to admire & respect, not only for just giving us the story of  'Lord of the Rings' but for the detailing & vision so deep that I was amazed by it while viewing the movie!! I may never even leave the book till I devour it completely......

Am sure that many would argue with me that there were other great authors, which is definitely true but for me, knowing the man & his simplicity, it seems unbelievable that he would conjure up a tale so vivid to enrapture people of all ages so completely.

J.R.R Tolkein (1892- 1973), called the 'Father of modern fantasy literature', was an English writer & university professor who was brought up in Birmingham, England. He lost his parents at a young age & was brought up by the church. He was very fond of botany & would roam the local hills & countrysides exploring England, scenes of which were depicted in his books. He was also interested in painting & learning new languages, an interest that helped him invent completely new languages for his fantasy stories!!!

A contemporary of C.S.Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia), Tolkien studied at the prestigious Oxford University & joined the army on completion. He fought the WW1 but was greviously injured during it because of which he returned back to England & began work as a lecturer & translator. At the same time, he started writing his books & stories. In 1936, his book "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" had an acclaimed opening not only for the content but also for the way it was portrayed. As one of his student says, 'When he spoke, it was the voice of Gandalf'.

He wrote a number of articles & books throughout his life, most notable of them being the 'Lord of the Rings' series & 'The Hobbit' & these together with tales, poems, essays & other fictional histories and invented languages, depicted an imaginary world called Arda & Middle Earth.

His literary works brought him a whole lot of accolades & citations throughout his life & although he won fame, he was quite uncomfortable with it all & till the end remained a simple unassuming man who am quite sure was unaware of his impact on people all over the world!!!

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