Tolkien and Middle-earth essays now hosted on MERP.COM

Michael Martinez · 04-27-2003, 09:24 PM

Okay. Many of you now know that I have left Suite101. However, I always intended to continue writing essays for Tolkien fans. At first I hoped I could just move everything to Xenite.Org, but three dead hard drives destroyed that plan.

I am happy to say that MERP.COM (Middle-earth Role-Playing) stepped in and offered to host the new essays section for me. I'll be contributing essays on a more-or-less monthly basis. And the first one is now up:

What a hobbit wants...

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." One of the most famous opening lines in English literature lays down the law for our perception of the basic hobbit lifestyle: comfort. Hobbits don't live in "nasty, dirty, wet hole(s), filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell". They live in comfortable tunnels "without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats...."

People have lived in holes and caves throughout history, sometimes as a means of evading detection, sometimes for purely defensive reasons. But we have never really lived in hobbit holes. Bilbo's hole, Bag End, represents the lifestyle of the aristocratic hobbit, and among Big Folk like you and me, aristocrats live in castles, palaces, mansions -- anything but holes in the sides of hills.

Tolkien's fascination with underground dwelling undoubtedly owes something to his wartime experiences in France, where millions of soldiers filled trenches and underground bunkers that were clearly "nasty, dirty, wet hole(s), filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell". As with so many other writers of his generation, Tolkien's fiction pursues an escapist course which seeks to wipe away the memory of the battlefields of northern France. But in Tolkien's case, he paints a more pleasant memory over the unpleasant one while leaving a remarkably evocative set of clues to the inspirations his imagery.

Read the full essay here:
http://www.merp.com/modules.php?op=m...article&sid=48

Thank you, MERP.COM! Here's hoping we have a long and mutually enjoyable association.

Elvellyn · 04-27-2003, 09:32 PM

Thank you, Mr. Martinez!

I just finished reading your essay and found it very insightful. You addressed issues I hadn't even thought about before.

Lizra · 04-28-2003, 01:17 AM

Oh goody!

I'm glad you're still writing ME stuff, and there's a place to read it. Thanks!

***Rían*** · 04-28-2003, 04:51 PM

I have really enjoyed your essays, MM, since I first discovered them about a year ago - I"m glad you found a new site for them!

However, that yellow text on black page is very hard to read -- or is it only me? Can that be changed?

Michael Martinez · 04-28-2003, 10:49 PM

Thanks, everyone, for the support.

I don't know if the colors can be changed or not. Perhaps a registered user can set the color scheme. You may have to capture the text and paste it into a word processor or text editor (in Microsoft Windows, just click on the page somewhere in the middle of the essay and then press CTRL+A to select all the text).

Gwaimir Windgem · 04-29-2003, 12:30 AM

I don't mean to be rude or anything, but it seems to me that to say that something "undoubtedly" sprang from a certain experience in Tolkien's life seems a little...I don't know...

Michael Martinez · 04-29-2003, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
I don't mean to be rude or anything, but it seems to me that to say that something "undoubtedly" sprang from a certain experience in Tolkien's life seems a little...I don't know...

Well, be sure to finish the thought when you do know.

Michael Martinez · 04-29-2003, 11:30 PM

On a more serious note, it's okay to say things like "undoubtedly" when you're writing an extrapolative essay. (Besides which, Tolkien admitted to injecting something of his personal experience in everything he wrote -- a trait common to all writers.)

04-27-2003, 09:24 PM	#1
Michael Martinez Elven Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 892	Tolkien and Middle-earth essays now hosted on MERP.COM Okay. Many of you now know that I have left Suite101. However, I always intended to continue writing essays for Tolkien fans. At first I hoped I could just move everything to Xenite.Org, but three dead hard drives destroyed that plan. I am happy to say that MERP.COM (Middle-earth Role-Playing) stepped in and offered to host the new essays section for me. I'll be contributing essays on a more-or-less monthly basis. And the first one is now up: What a hobbit wants... "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." One of the most famous opening lines in English literature lays down the law for our perception of the basic hobbit lifestyle: comfort. Hobbits don't live in "nasty, dirty, wet hole(s), filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell". They live in comfortable tunnels "without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats...." People have lived in holes and caves throughout history, sometimes as a means of evading detection, sometimes for purely defensive reasons. But we have never really lived in hobbit holes. Bilbo's hole, Bag End, represents the lifestyle of the aristocratic hobbit, and among Big Folk like you and me, aristocrats live in castles, palaces, mansions -- anything but holes in the sides of hills. Tolkien's fascination with underground dwelling undoubtedly owes something to his wartime experiences in France, where millions of soldiers filled trenches and underground bunkers that were clearly "nasty, dirty, wet hole(s), filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell". As with so many other writers of his generation, Tolkien's fiction pursues an escapist course which seeks to wipe away the memory of the battlefields of northern France. But in Tolkien's case, he paints a more pleasant memory over the unpleasant one while leaving a remarkably evocative set of clues to the inspirations his imagery. Read the full essay here: http://www.merp.com/modules.php?op=m...article&sid=48 Thank you, MERP.COM! Here's hoping we have a long and mutually enjoyable association. __________________ http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/ http://www.michael-martinez.com/ http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/

04-27-2003, 09:32 PM	#2
Elvellyn The Redneck Elf Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: In a house Posts: 539	Thank you, Mr. Martinez! I just finished reading your essay and found it very insightful. You addressed issues I hadn't even thought about before. __________________ Oliphants make great pets. Last edited by Elvellyn : 04-27-2003 at 10:15 PM.

04-28-2003, 01:17 AM	#3
Lizra Domesticated Swing Babe Join Date: May 2002 Location: Reality Posts: 5,340	Oh goody! I'm glad you're still writing ME stuff, and there's a place to read it. Thanks! __________________ Happy Atheist Go Democrats!

04-28-2003, 04:51 PM	#4
*Rían* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	I have really enjoyed your essays, MM, since I first discovered them about a year ago - I"m glad you found a new site for them! However, that yellow text on black page is very hard to read -- or is it only me? Can that be changed? __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ñá ë?* óú éä ïöü Öñ É Þ ð ß ® ç å ™ æ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lómë! Aurë entuluva!

04-28-2003, 10:49 PM	#5
Michael Martinez Elven Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 892	Thanks, everyone, for the support. I don't know if the colors can be changed or not. Perhaps a registered user can set the color scheme. You may have to capture the text and paste it into a word processor or text editor (in Microsoft Windows, just click on the page somewhere in the middle of the essay and then press CTRL+A to select all the text). __________________ http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/ http://www.michael-martinez.com/ http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/

04-29-2003, 12:30 AM	#6
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	I don't mean to be rude or anything, but it seems to me that to say that something "undoubtedly" sprang from a certain experience in Tolkien's life seems a little...I don't know... __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

04-29-2003, 11:30 PM	#8
Michael Martinez Elven Loremaster Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 892	On a more serious note, it's okay to say things like "undoubtedly" when you're writing an extrapolative essay. (Besides which, Tolkien admitted to injecting something of his personal experience in everything he wrote -- a trait common to all writers.) __________________ http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie/ http://www.michael-martinez.com/ http://www.merp.com/essays/MichaelMartinez/

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