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06-08-2004, 07:37 AM | #1 |
Lady of Letters
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England
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Why "The Lord of the Rings"?
I'm sure this is an incredibly stupid question, but it's always puzzled me...
Why is LOTR named after the "Lord of the Rings"? Titles often have significance in defining the priorities and themes of a novel, so doesn't it seem a bit odd to choose to call LOTR after the "villain" of the story? There must have been hundreds of titles Tolkien could have chosen - why pick that one? Come on, crack open your Letters of Tolkien. There's got to be an answer there
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And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool. |
06-08-2004, 08:06 AM | #2 |
Fëanorophobic
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Between the pages of a book
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The other day one of my friends (who is not that big a Tolkien fan) asked me the same question. (In fact at first he didn't believe me when I told him that Sauron was the Lord of the Rings)
So here's what I answered: I think that the major theme in the story is the power to fight evil and corruption. So it would only be fitting to name the story about Sauron whom the heroes fight. But, thinking now, I don't find this answer to be good enough. I think I might have another one; I think it would sound even more stupid, but here goes: I think that the title doesn't refer to Sauron. Rather, it refers to Frodo. Frodo, being able to resist and overcome the call of the Ring has become the real LOTR as he could rise above them. (I would also go on to add that Sauron was the Slave of the Rings because he was bound to the Ring and could never do without its evil powers to feed his greed) Well, I know how all this sounds, but I have only one defense: I didn't read the Tolkien letters so I'm just speculating here. Last edited by Beren3000 : 06-08-2004 at 11:54 AM. |
06-08-2004, 08:58 AM | #3 |
Elven Warrior
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Birmingham, UK
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If I remember correctly, Tolkien himself stated that the reason why the book is called The Lord of the Rings is because he wanted to point out that there could be no other "Lord of the Rings" than Sauron himself. He was undeniably putting across to the reader that it wasn't just the quest to destroy the One Ring that was integral to the main plot; but also that the effects of the other Rings would also diminish - as Sauron had control over them through the One.
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06-11-2004, 03:02 PM | #4 | |
Lady of Letters
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Quote:
I'm still confused though
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And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool. |
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06-11-2004, 03:08 PM | #5 | |
Fëanorophobic
Join Date: May 2004
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Quote:
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06-12-2004, 05:18 AM | #6 |
Lady of Letters
Join Date: Jan 2002
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True, indeed.
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And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool. |
06-12-2004, 11:11 PM | #7 |
Hobbit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
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i agree that frodo resisted the call of the ring for a very long time but i think that frodo never controlled the ring or could bend it to hs will thats why i think that the title refers to sauron , a constant throughout the series
but i am still very confused
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06-13-2004, 02:52 AM | #8 |
Fëanorophobic
Join Date: May 2004
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I am not saying that Frodo could control the Ring as in bend it to his will. I'm just saying that he could bring himself not to use it; which, IMO, is harder
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08-13-2004, 02:40 AM | #9 |
Warrior of the House of Hador
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,651
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Yet there were still flashes that showed the Ring was taking control. eg. When Sam found him in the tower or Cirith Ungol where for a moment he became stronger and angry, snatching it off Sam. I think he did well to resist it that long bu Bilbo managed to resist it for 60 years and then give it away!
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08-13-2004, 04:15 AM | #10 |
Fëanorophobic
Join Date: May 2004
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I think these moments where the Ring takes control are shown in the movie more than in the books (but then again, I don't have the strongest of memories ).
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08-14-2004, 01:52 PM | #11 | |
Enting
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Valinor
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Frodo is definitely not the Lord of the Rings...that's a point made in the story. Gandalf points it out to Pippin:
Quote:
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08-14-2004, 02:49 PM | #12 |
Swan-Knight of Dol Amroth
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Beat me to it, Ulmo. Yep, Sauron is called the Lord of the Rings, not because he has dominion over all of them, especially without the Ruling Ring, but because he was the proximate cause of them all being made, and if he regained the Ruling Ring, he would have indeed have dominion over all of them that remained.
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"What song the Sirens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions are not beyond conjecture." - Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial. |
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